Vietnam to hold live-fire drills

HANOI—Vietnam said it would welcome efforts by the international community, including the United States, to help resolve disputes in the South China Sea, after weeks of flare-ups over maritime disputes with China.

The squabble escalated on Friday when Vietnam announced that its navy would hold a live ammunition drill in an apparent response to China’s demand that the Vietnamese halt all oil exploration in the area.

But Vietnam said on Saturday that the live-fire naval drills scheduled for Monday were “routine.”

Tensions in the region have risen in the past two weeks, with China and Vietnam trading accusations of violating sovereignty in the sea, home to important shipping lanes and potentially large oil and gas reserves.

The barrage of allegations followed an incident, made public by Vietnam late last month, in which authorities said a Chinese ship deliberately severed cables in use by a Vietnamese survey vessel in Vietnamese waters.

Vietnam said it was the second time China had hindered the operation of an oil and gas exploration boat in two weeks, adding that its actions were “completely premeditated.”

Although a military clash seems unlikely, the tensions could trouble diplomacy and possibly draw in the United States, which took up the South China Sea dispute last year.

The website of a company involved in maritime safety, vms-north.vn, warned vessels to avoid live-fire drills in an area off central Vietnam.

It was the first time Vietnam has issued such an alert about conducting maritime drills.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga confirmed the drills, calling them “a routine annual training activity of the Vietnamese Navy.

Asked about a possible role for the United States or others in resolving the disputes, Nga said in separate remarks late on Friday: “Maintaining maritime peace, stability, security and safety in the Eastern Sea is in the common interests of all nations within and outside the region.” Reuters, AP