At an ASEAN meeting where North Korea took center stage, the South China Sea dispute was still on everyone’s mind.
Of particular interest for China was the wording of a joint communique released by foreign ministers of ASEAN nations, which expressed concern over land reclamation on disputed islands. Bloomberg reports that China was especially upset with Vietnam, who they saw as pushing for the wording, citing people familiar with the situation.
In response, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi canceled a scheduled one-on-one meeting with the Vietnamese counterpart in Manila at the last minute.
Vietnam had reportedly halted oil drilling activities in disputed waters last month, later releasing a statement urging all parties to respect its petroleum rights in the South China Sea, amid speculation that China had threatened military action.
Vietnam will stand up to China. The latter is a cowardly bully that can only bark not bite. For the last 60 days or more, China has been barking daily about India, but is not able to continue building the road in Bhutan that they set out to build. India has stopped China in its tracks. Vietnam has a lot of experience in dealing with China and knows how to bloody China’s nose. Its about time, Vietnam developed nuclear weapons to deal with Chinese threats. India can and should help Vietnam here.