Source: AsiaNews.it
On the sidelines of a bilateral meeting, Vietnam’s Foreign Minister says New Delhi has the right to explore and develop resources in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea. A trading partnership turns into an economic alliance as India funds Vietnam’s energy projects.
New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Despite protests from China, India has joined the endless dispute over the South China Sea. In fact, New Delhi can pursue “exploration and exploitation work in the exclusive economic zone of Vietnam,” Vietnam Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said after meeting his Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid at the 15th Meeting of the India-Vietnam Joint Commission currently held in the Indian capital.
Mr Pham’s statement comes a few days after Beijing agreed to discuss a Code of Conduct to manage longstanding disputes in the South China Sea, whose seabed is rich in oil and natural gas.
However, in spite of this concession, China has never hidden its opposition to exploration projects by India in Vietnam’s section of the sea.
Despite Chinese threats, the New Delhi-Hanoi alliance is getting stronger, as the recent meeting confirms.
In addition to Pham’s explicit statements, the conference also saw the two countries agree to US$ 19.5 million Line of Credit to set up Nam Trai-IV hydropower project and Binh Bo Pumping station.
Vietnam also chose India’s Tata Power to develop the US$ 1.8 billion 2X660 MW Long Phu 2 Thermal Power Project in Soc Trang province, southern Vietnam, beating the strong competition from South Korean and Russian companies.
Once completed, “It will be the single largest Indian investment in Vietnam when it comes through and will give a strong boost to our economic cooperation and the strategic partnership,” Pham said.
What is more, “We want to affirm our support to India’s Look East policy which manifests in a more active role in Asia Pacific region and the world at large,” the Vietnamese minister added.
In the Asia-Pacific region, China has the most extensive claims in terms of maritime boundaries in the South China Sea, including the resource-rich but largely uninhabited Spratly and Paracel Islands. Hegemony in the area is of strategic importance for maritime trade and oil and natural gas development.
Beijing’s expansionist ambitions are challenged by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, the Sultanate of Brunei and Taiwan.
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