Thanh Nien News
14 July 2014
- RSIS
- Media Mentions
- Vietnam, Philippines Cheer as U.S. Lawmakers Wage War of Words against China
Vietnam, Philippines Cheer as U.S. Lawmakers Wage War of Words against China
A US Senate resolution which, among other things, urged China to withdraw its giant oil rig from Vietnamese waters has been welcomed by Vietnam and the Philippines, but several analysts say the move may only stoke the already simmering tensions in the region.
On July 10, the divided and partisan US Senate unanimously passed a resolution affirming “the strong support of the United States government for freedom of navigation and other internationally lawful uses of sea and airspace in the Asia-Pacific region, and for the peaceful diplomatic resolution of outstanding territorial and maritime claims and disputes.”
The resolution also touched on hot-button issues like the East China Sea dispute between China and Japan, the constitutional changes allowing Japan’s use of the right of collective self-defense, and the Japan-US relationship.
… “It is a very comprehensive resolution that says a lot more about US perceptions of the maritime security situation in the East and South China Seas than just the freedom of navigation,” Sam Bateman, a maritime security researcher at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, told Thanh Nien News.
IDSS / RSIS / Online
Last updated on 15/07/2014
