China Builds Hotpot Restaurant on Disputed South China Sea Island, Angers Vietnam

Hanoi –

Vietnam was furious after China built a hotpot restaurant on Woody Island, Paracel Islands, the South China Sea area which is a dispute between the two countries.

The largest restaurant on the island has drawn criticism from the Vietnamese public for Beijing’s latest maneuvers to increase the status of claims over the island that China controlled nearly 50 years ago, reported by Radio Free Asia.

The South China Morning Post reported that the Kuanzhai Xiangzhi hotpot restaurant opened in late April on Woody Island.

The main menu at the restaurant consists of raw meat, seafood and vegetables, and several types of broth.

The opening ceremony of the 120-seat restaurant “marked a subtle push by Beijing to consolidate the country’s claims in the highly crowded and strategic waterway, which are claimed under their historic ‘nine-dash line’.”

In addition to soft pressure, China also continues to exert hard pressure through militarization of the disputed islands.

Woody Island is part of the Paracel Islands group (China call it the Xisha Islands) which are claimed by Beijing, Hanoi and Taiwan. China has controlled the islands since 1974 after a fleet of Chinese warships defeated the South Vietnamese Navy, killing 50 Vietnamese sailors at that time.

China also controls the Spratly Islands (Beijing’s version of the Nansha Islands) which are also claimed by three countries at once, namely Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

“Vietnam has sufficient legal basis and historical evidence to ensure our sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands in accordance with international law,” said a spokesman for Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as quoted by RFA.

“Vietnam has taken and is taking appropriate measures, in accordance with international law, to ensure its legitimate rights and interests.”

The Post reported that the chief executive of the Sansha Islands named Wang Panpan told Hainan TV that the restaurant would “enrich the material and cultural repertoire of life for the military, police and people of the island.”

The Chinese population on Woody Island has reportedly increased from 1,000 people to 2,300 people in 2020 since it was occupied in 2012.

In 2014, China establish civil-military airports. Beijing started building kindergartens and primary schools, courthouses, cinemas, banks, hospitals, post offices and stadiums on the island since 2015.

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This article has climbed on CNN Indonesia.

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