Weekly News 23 - 30 May

23/05/2011

- (Reuters 27/5) UPDATE 1-Vietnam says Chinese boats harassed oil exploration ship; (AP 27/5) Vietnam accuses China of threatening boat researching oil-drilling sites in South China Sea; (Forbes 27/5) Vietnam accuses China of violating sovereignty; (Upstream 27/5) Chinese boats 'harass' Vietnam oil ship; (Financial Times 27/5) Vietnam and China oil clashes intensify - “China is brazenly asserting its sovereignty by such actions and it has the preponderance of vessels to enforce this,”, Carl Thayer, an expert on the South China Sea at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra - (Platts 26/5) CNOOC offers 19 offshore South China Sea blocks for joint exploration - 12 blocks in the east area of South China Sea, and seven blocks in the west area of the South China Sea, according to the notice published on Tuesday. - (East Asia Forum 25/5) Taiwan on the fence as South China Sea tensions mount - Taiwan’s South China Sea policy is a balancing act, seeking to protect its interests there while continuing to avoid antagonizing China or the United States and its allies - (Xinhua 25/5) China discusses South China Sea issue with Indonesia, Philippines during Defense Minister's visit - (Inquirer 25/5) Aquino warns of arms race - President Benigno Aquino III has warned Chinese Defense Minister Liang Gianglie - (PhilStar 26/5) The Spratly issue - (CriEnglish 26/5) China Establishes Cyber PLA - China's Defense Ministry has now revealed that the PLA has established a "cyber blue team" to better safeguard the Internet security of the armed forces. - (ABS-CBN 25/5) FVR pushes for 'hard bargaining' with China - Former President Fidel V. Ramos warned yesterday against raising tensions in the South China Sea and urged President Aquino to be more consistent in his dealings with China and the United States.