Vietnam Plans Live Fire Drills (Relations with China Steadily Worsening)

Vietnam's navy will stage unprecedented live-fire drills off its central coast on Monday in an apparent escalation of Sino-Vietnamese tensions over the South China Sea - a dispute that has so far involved only civilian ships.

The announcement of two exercises over nine hours off Quang Nam province came as China intensified its condemnation of Vietnam over recent incidents. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Hanoi had "gravely violated" China's sovereignty and endangered the lives of its fishermen in the latest incident on Thursday.

The Chinese statement contradicted Vietnam's protest about an "intentional" attack by a Chinese fishing boat on cables towed by an oil survey ship in its southern waters.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China was the victim, adding armed Vietnamese ships chased away a Chinese fishing boat, whose net became entangled in a Vietnamese survey ship's cables. It was dragged for more than an hour as the fishermen tried to free their boat.

"The Vietnamese ship put the lives and safety of the Chinese fishermen in serious danger," Hong said. "By conducting unlawful oil and gas surveys in the seas around the Wanan Bank of the Spratly archipelago and by driving out a Chinese fishing vessel, Vietnam has gravely violated China's sovereignty and maritime rights. China demands that Vietnam cease all violations."

Vietnam accused Chinese maritime surveillance ships of cutting the cables of another survey ship on May 26 - an incident that sparked a series of diplomatic exchanges, with Beijing telling Hanoi to "refrain from creating trouble". Vietnamese survey ships are intensifying operations as foreign oil firms expand exploration under deals struck with Hanoi - despite Beijing's warnings to halt such activities.

The mounting tension is being monitored in the region and beyond. Washington angered Beijing last year by declaring that the US had a "national interest" in helping to ensure a peaceful regional solution to territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Re: Guess what Vietnam, you’re on your own this time!
Jackasses! You deserve every bit of what’s coming your way.

Now let’s see... How many naval hardware does Vietnam have and are able to financially maintain given the country’s mediocre and rag tag economy??? Does anyone have the numerical facts here?

Now, let’s see how many [state of the art air, sea, sub, and land launch anti ship missiles which was designed to engage a front line power as the USN] that them there evil evil ChiCom’s can potentially pump out a month given the humongous economy and industrial capability of the them there ChiCom’s? Anyone have the facts here?

Now, does it really require a Whizard to figure that equation out, or does it?

Re: Well, last time they met at the border, Vietnam kicked the Chinese asses.

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Really? And you witnessed the event first hand and all in the person, too, of course :). Or, did you get it from Pravda (USSR) who was in an arch rivalry with the Chinese-Maoist’s at the time?

On another thought, could it have been the propaganda machinery of Washington, DC, that you guys were sold lock stack and barrel on the idea that you had [kicked *ss so to speak] :)?

Yes, did the Chinese-Maoists really took the kind’s of a lose that both America and the USSR were pumping and selling to the world?

I dunno, because, from what I am aware, [casualty counts of Chinese-Maoists had always been treated a military strategy hence kept indefinitely a secret ever since the CCP was incorporated. Unlike the Americans, the Chinese=Maoist’s won’t ever reveal their casualties tallies regardless if a major military venture or just a tiny one.

My bet is that Chinese-Maoist’s casualty in the Nam border conflict is probably in the thousands. My uneducated guess is that it’s in the 4,000 plus range. Even so, Chinese leaders probably realize that that is still, extremely high, even by Chinese Maoists standards, hence the initiative to modernize soon after. It definitely wasn’t the inflated number that Moscow and Washington wanted you to believe hence was selling to everyone.

Don’t forget, the Chinese Maoists had consulted with everyone. They did say that they don’t have any intentions of staying put in Nam as America and as the Soviets of the era are accustomed. They kept their words and pulled out soon as their objective was met.

If the Chinese-Maoists had wanted to stick around in their military ventures as the Americans and as the Soviets did, it would have been but a piece of cake for them because the population in Maoist’s China is so huge they can go on indefinitely if they wanted. I mean all that’s needed is but an endless stream of AK-47’s and a little working on China’s little red guards and Nam would be in the sh*ts.

Did you guy know that to neutralize land mines along the border that herds and herds of sheep was herded across the danger zone before foot soldier make their way across and, not considering the rocket launchers which had forced opposing forces to take cover, did you guys know know that J-7’s was used to B-52 enemy positions as Chinese troops advances?

Seriously, it don’t take a genus to figure out how Maoist troops were able to move so deep and so quickly into Nam territory (in as short a time as 3 weeks I think). It’s the massive fire power and the air support Man!

But, will the Americans and the Soviets at the time want you to know all of the going’s on’s? Not on your life!

Re: Just another incident off the Spratly Islands.....ping.

I think it’ll be more than that. I think we’ll see yet another naval shootout as the one in the ‘80’s (I think it was the ‘80’s).

Like the border war of ‘79 where the USSR promised to act as the VC’s insurance policy hence keep fanning the VC’s to take the ChiCom’s on, this time around Washington likely promised to fill the void left by the USSR hence may feeling more confident than they should.

Don’t forget, Vietnam is one of the many cards in America’s China encirclement policy. I mean everyone in the www is aware of America’s China policy, its agendas in Nam and in the Indian subcontinent.

I have a feeling it’s going to be an ugly one [with the USN uttering involvement in the conflict] as the shooting gets red hot between the VC’s as the ChiCom’s while in another front, the ChiCom’s are putting the USN at a state of stalemate because of concerns that any direct intervention with the ChiCom’s may get out of control and erupt into a full scale shootout between the two major powers.

Don’t forget, the USSR too was full of it when the tough gets going and when the going gets tough so to speak during the Sino-Viet war.

It might be fine for them to get themselves knee deep in Afghanistan. Getting involved militarily with a country as massive as the ChiCom’s is still a [think twice and over and over again proposition]. Same mentality will apply to all three major world powers.

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