Tensions between Vietnam and China have once again escalated as Vietnam announced the deployment of a ship to track a Chinese vessel patrolling a Russian gas field within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This move comes amid increasing disputes between the two countries over territorial claims in the South China Sea. With geopolitical tensions on the rise, the situation between Vietnam and China remains volatile, and any further escalation could have far-reaching implications in the region. In this article, we take a closer look at the latest developments in this ongoing conflict and explore what they mean for the parties involved.
A Vietnamese ship was reported to have monitored a Chinese Coast Guard vessel that sailed through a Russian-operated gas field in Vietnam’s South China Sea exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Saturday, as per data from the Vietnamese research organisation South China Sea Chronicle Initiative (SCSCI). Since January 2022, Chinese coastguard vessels have sailed into energy exploration blocks operated or owned by Russian firms in Vietnam’s EEZ around 40 times. China claims the area as part of its expansive territorial claim in the South China Sea, marked by a “nine-dash line,” a boundary that has no legal basis according to the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in 2016. This pattern of patrols mirrors Chinese Coast Guard activity elsewhere in the South China Sea, where such vessels have been used to assert territorial claims.
The ship-tracking data show that Chinese Coast Guard ships have been patrolling gas and oil fields owned or operated by Russian firms in the South China Sea, including those in Vietnam’s EEZ. According to maps created by SCSCI and analysed by Reuters, using Automatic Identification System signals from those vessels, Chinese ships in 2021 followed nearly identical routes at least 34 times from Vanguard Bank, a feature near the boundaries of Vietnamese and Indonesian EEZs, to two Russian-controlled blocks 50 nautical miles away. Chinese ships typically return on a direct route to Vanguard Bank, where they are stationed, data reviewed by Reuters show. The Chinese ship on Saturday instead sailed to Malaysia’s EEZ.
China has built artificial islands and airfields on some reefs and islets in the sea, which has caused widespread concern in the region and in the United States. Vietnam and Indonesia have asked China to avoid these areas in their EEZs, though the zones do not have sailing restrictions under international law. Ian Storey, a senior fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute said, “China is asserting jurisdictional rights to seabed energy resources and used its coast guard to put pressure on regional states.”
Zarubezhneft, Gazprom, and Russia’s Foreign Ministry and embassy in Hanoi did not respond to requests for comment. Harbour Energy and Zarubezhneft are developing the nearby Tuna gas field in Indonesia’s EEZ, from which Jakarta plans to export gas to Vietnam via a pipeline starting in 2026. The project is currently suspended because of Western Ukraine-related sanctions on some of the companies involved.
China’s foreign ministry said the Chinese Coast Guard carried out patrols in the areas under China’s jurisdiction in the South China Sea while respecting international law, and said it was not aware of patrols in energy exploration blocks operated by Russian firms. Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Vietnam’s foreign ministry said Vietnam acted in the South China Sea “to protect its legal rights”.
The gas-rich fields operated by Russian companies are among the furthest from Vietnam’s coast and are close to the strategic boundary with Indonesia’s EEZ, and to blocks claimed by China. The Indonesian navy said it would beef up security around gas-rich waters near its maritime border with Vietnam to prevent territorial clashes. The issue highlights the growing geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea region.
