Satellite images recorded by the US company Maxar Technologies on March 23 showed that about 220 Chinese ships anchored near Ba Dau rock in Sinh Ton cluster, infringing upon Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Spratly archipelago. (Source: Getty Images) “Prelude” smooth? The incident of hundreds of Chinese ships gathered in Ba Dau Stone has been attracting the attention of domestic and international public opinion today, especially on China’s intentional motives. Philippine officials and scholars warn, this is a sign that China may be taking on new attempts in the South China Sea, possibly leading to the occupation of this rocky beach as it did with Hoang Nham in 2012. Former judge Antonio De Carpio said that the hundreds of fishing vessels gathered at Ba Dau Stone is likely to be “prelude” for China to occupy this beach as what Beijing did with the Ring Stone in 1995. Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Trieu Lap Kien affirmed that Chinese ships are only on this rocky beach to avoid bad weather, and this is a normal practice that has taken place for a long time. China. This spokesman also said that the Philippines calling the ships above as civilian fishing ships was not true. Meanwhile, scholars Andrew Erickson and Ryan Martinson of the US Naval War College analyzed AIS satellite data to prove that there are at least seven of the ships operating in the Sinh Ton island cluster, with the number the branding of each ship is clear, belonging to China’s “armed militia at sea” force. Besides, the group of ships here does not show that these are normal fishing vessels. Regarding the activities of Chinese fishing vessels in the South China Sea at Ba Dau Rock in the Spratly Islands of Vietnam, at a regular press conference on the afternoon of April 8, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said : It is necessary to reiterate that Vietnam has full historical evidence and legal basis asserting sovereignty over the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, in accordance with international law, as well as sovereignty, sovereignty right, jurisdiction over the relevant waters in the South China Sea, established in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982. All forms of propaganda and promotion of contents contrary to historical truth and international law is invalid, can not change the reality of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, as well as the reality of the South China Sea issue. China is against the law of nature Through analyzing satellite image data, observers said, there are at least 3 reasons to believe that the gathering of hundreds of Chinese ships in Ba Dau Stone is not the purpose of avoiding bad weather, and this is also not a long-standing custom of Chinese fishing vessels. first , satellite image data taken from Ba Dau Stone from 2016 up to now shows that hundreds of Chinese ships gathered at Da Ba Dau is a phenomenon that has only started to appear from February 2020. In previous years, Chinese fishing vessels had been anchored sporadically at Da Ba Dau but usually no more than 20 ships, and the ships had never been reassembled into such large structures. Monday According to satellite image data, the phenomenon of China massaging ships and boats mounted into structures at Ba Dau Stone since the beginning of 2020 has lasted for weeks or even months. Such a long gathering period was clearly not meant to avoid bad weather. Moreover, the mass gathering of ships only occurs at Da Ba Dau, while around the Sinh Ton island cluster there are many natural structures, also suitable for ships anchored to avoid weather. bad, but there were almost no ships anchored or sheltered there. Tuesday March and April each year is the quietest time of the year in the Trường Sa area of ​​the year. Vietnamese folk have a saying: “In March, the old woman goes to the sea”, this time is the calm sea season, even the old woman can go to the sea, so ships all choose this time to go fishing. The fact that China used the reasons for bad weather shelter is not only inconsistent with the satellite image data obtained, but also contrary to the natural laws of the area. New salami slicing strategy So what does China mean by gathering hundreds of fishing boats at Ba Dau Rock, with the number of years after the year being much higher than the previous year, as satellite image data shows? Maybe China’s goal is to establish a regular, large-scale presence in the Ba Dau Stone, turn this presence into a “normal” thing, gradually move towards fully taking control and possibly Illegally building and renovating this stone into a new military facility. This will be China’s new salami-sand tactic to effectively expand control of the South China Sea. It is likely that this tactic will use a large number of ships gathered in an area to obstruct the activities of countries, and at the same time, these ships can spread, encircle, harass or impede operations. of other countries in different structures. Professor Alexander L. Vuving of the Center for Asia-Pacific Security Research in Honolulu, USA, said that China may be using a tactic as used in Scarborough Shoal, to blatantly gain control. in the field at Ba Dau rock which has a strategic location. Beijing tried to take the stone in the 1990s, he warns, but with no success, but this time it may be different. Alexander reiterates that Vietnam was the first party to speak out about the Three Heads Stone, opposing China allowing troops to land on that entity in 1992, so China may have changed its tactics. It is also possible that another goal of China is to gather a large number of militia ships here to deter countries in the region during the sea season of fishermen, which is also the season when countries in the region deploy activities. oil and gas exploitation activities. Meanwhile, Grigory Lokshin, a Russian expert on the South China Sea, said that there is no doubt that this is a Chinese political action in response to the meeting of the new Quartet in Tokyo in March. by. And former director of the China Maritime Research Institute at the University of Maritime Warfare Peter Dutton said that Beijing is pressuring US allies in the South China Sea to send the implicit message: “China is strong and will do what Beijing wants, if needed, regardless of previous laws or commitments. Whatever the reason and the motive, China’s gathering of large numbers of ships in the Ba Dau Stone has once again raised concerns about China’s intentional goal in the region, undermining strategic confidence in when the region needs cooperation in economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. This action is also unlikely to be considered a goodwill act in the context of ASEAN and China working to revive the negotiation process of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC). This behavior also violates the spirit of the Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea (DOC), violates the principle of restraint not complicating the already increasingly complicated situation here, is the main cause of public opinion in the region. and international concerns and criticisms of China over the past time. (According to South China Sea Research)

US and Philippine soldiers in a “Balikatan” exercise

Attempting to repeat the “gray area” strategy.

The question of where the Chinese marine militia ships have been unusually concentrated since the beginning of March 2021 in the Ba Dau rocky area located in the Sinh Ton Dong island cluster in the Spratly archipelago of Vietnam. when the number of more than 200 ships dropped to a few dozen, there was an answer. The latest aerial photographs of the Philippines show that hundreds of Chinese marine militia ships are gathered in Ga Ven rock and Ken Nan rock in the Spratly archipelago of Vietnam.

Images taken by satellite Europe and the US, published by the AFP news agency on April 13, also show that China’s marine militia fleet is present in a large number of hundreds of ships in Ga Ven rock. The pictures taken by the Philippine authorities. According to experts, the Chinese maritime militia fleet is no longer crowded and large rafts like Ba Dau rock but radiates, thickens around Ga Ven rocks and Ken Nan rocks of the Spratly Islands of Vietnam. Male.

Previously, from the beginning of March 2021, Philippine officials and photos taken from satellites said that hundreds of Chinese iron-hulled ships were abnormally concentrated in the waters close to Ba Dau rock in Vietnamese territorial waters. The South is in Sinh Ton Dong island cluster, located in Truong Sa archipelago. Subsequent tallys showed that the number of Chinese iron-hull ships was more than 220, many of which were made into large rafts.

The Chinese side justifies that these are fishing boats, concentrated in Ba Dau rock “due to bad weather”. However, Philippine officials immediately rejected when claiming that the weather in this area is very good, moreover, these ships only turn on the lights all night, but absolutely do not have any fishing activities.

Filipino officials confirmed that hundreds of Chinese iron-hull ships gathered in Ba Dau rock since early March were Chinese marine militia ships disguised as fishing ships. Therefore, the fact that hundreds of marine militia ships have aggressive and aggressive acts on Ba Dau Rock has caused regional nations, the international community and analysts alike to think that Beijing is trying. calculated once again the “gray area” tactic for Ba Dau rock, a shallow beach with an area of ​​about 10km belonging to Sinh Ton Dong island cluster in the Spratly archipelago of Vietnam.

In a strategy throughout the realization of its sovereignty ambitions in the South China Sea, China has adopted the “gray zone” tactic, using the overwhelming power of a disguised fleet of iron-shell fishing vessels that are essentially marine militia ships with the backing of armed ships to illegally occupy control of entities such as the Philippines-controlled Scaborough Shoal in 2012, the Vanh Khan (about 50 nautical miles from Ba Dau) in the Spratly Islands Vietnam in 1995. Thus, the unusual concentration of hundreds of marine militia ships managed by the Chinese army in the Ba Dau Rock under Vietnam’s legal and undisputed sovereignty has caused experts to accept. China may be contemplating a repeat of a dangerous tactic nine years ago to forcefully capture and control a Scaborough.

This concern is more and more basic when hundreds of ships gathered in Ba Dau rock at the same time and radiated Ga Ven rock and Ken Nan rock of the Spratly archipelago of Vietnam, many armed ships, ships. Chinese heavy warfare is also present in the region for its taciturn backing. Most recently, the combat squadron of the Liaodong carrier of China, after conducting exercises in waters near the island of Taiwan, moved southward into the South China Sea. It is reported that the Shandong aircraft carrier combat squadron, the aircraft carrier built by China, is also present in the South China Sea.

Do not accept ostentation, encroachment in the East Sea

A series of moves that show off China’s military power in the South China Sea are concerned by regional countries, the international community, especially countries with interests attached to this sea area with deep concern. . On April 13, the Philippine Foreign Ministry summoned the Chinese Ambassador to the country to protest the actions of the Chinese ships at Ba Dau Rock. The Philippine Foreign Ministry earlier also sent a protest note to Beijing, and rejected the Chinese interpretation that disguised iron hulls in Ba Dau rock were just “ordinary fishing boats anchored due to bad weather. “.

At the same time with the strong response through diplomatic channels, the Philippines also took action on the ground to deal with China’s aggressive, aggressive behavior. Most recently, on April 13, the Philippines has deployed 1 more coast guard ship, 4 naval ships and 2 ships of the fisheries protection agency to many Chinese ships that are abnormally concentrated in the South China Sea.

Filipino Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana on April 10 had a phone call with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, to discuss the South China Sea situation and the appearance of hundreds of Chinese marine militia ships in the Ba Rock. Head. During the phone call, Mr. Austin proposed a series of measures to strengthen defense cooperation between the US and the Philippines, including “raising awareness of the situation of threats in the South China Sea”, and the Minister of State. rooms of the two countries share a commitment to maintaining close communication.

Just a day after the phone call, the Chief of Staff of the Philippine Armed Forces (AFP) said on April 11 that the joint exercise with the US named Balikatan was resumed and started from April 12. during 2 weeks with the participation of thousands of soldiers from the two countries. The exercise is said to be the cooperation and action of the Philippines and the US in response to a series of provocations by China in the South China Sea.

Previously, when answering questions from reporters about Vietnam’s reaction to many Chinese ships operating at Ba Dau beach in the Spratly archipelago of Vietnam, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Thi Thu Hang affirmed. , the activities of Chinese ships within the territorial sea of ​​Sinh Ton Dong belonging to the Spratlys of Vietnam have violated the sovereignty of Vietnam, violating the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the activities of foreign ships in the territorial sea of ​​a coastal country, contrary to the spirit and content of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), complicates the situation, is not beneficial for the negotiation process of a Code of Conduct between ASEAN and China in the South China Sea (COC).

The spokesperson stressed that Vietnam asked China to stop its infringement; respect for the sovereignty of Vietnam; goodwill to implement UNCLOS; strictly comply with the DOC, especially the obligation to restrain, not complicate the situation; create a favorable environment for the COC negotiation process; contribute to maintaining peace, security, stability and legal order at sea in the region.