Vietnam preparing for war with China: CPV general secretary: Nguyen Phu Trong shakes hands with veterans of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu on May 7 of 2014. (Photo/Xinhua) Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam said that the nation is preparing for a potential war with China to defend its sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, according to the Hanoi-based Tuoi Tre newspaper on July 2. Considered as a major pro-Chinese political figure, this is the first time Trong has discussed the possibility of a war between Beijing and Hanoi. He said that the Vietnamese government will do its best to avoid a direct confrontation with China; however, Trong criticized Chinese leaders for provoking conflict with Vietnam through deploying an oil platform in the waters off the Paracel islands in May, an incident that triggered strong anti-China sentiment in the Southeast Asian country. The Tokyo-based Kyodo News cited Trong as saying that it is necessary for the Vietnamese government and people to realize the difference between the small number of Chinese political elites who endorse the idea of expansionism and the majority of Chinese people who are still friends of Vietnam. Nguyen Van Nen, minister and chairperson of the Government Office, encouraged the Vietnamese to spend more money on goods produced domestically in preparation for potential economic warfare against Beijing. Zhuang Guotu, a military expert from Chinas Xiamen University, told the state-run Global Times that it is unlikely that Trong is seeking to go ahead with plans for a war with China, but rather that his words are a way of probing to see if there still exists any possibility for China to make concessions regarding the territorial conflict over the South China Sea. Zhuang said, however, that there is still a chance Vietnam will initiate a war against China. References: Zhuang Guotu 莊國土
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 14:00:40 +0000
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