[governance-vn] Spratlys/ANV: Uncomfortable anniversary in Vietnam

Thu Sep 11 02:32:43 EST 2008

Subject: [vnnews-l] Spratlys/ANV: Uncomfortable anniversary in Vietnam
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 2008 23:39:32 -0700 (PDT)
sent to vnnews-l by Stephen Denney <sdenney at OCF.Berkeley.EDU>

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/JI10Ae01.html

Sep 10, 2008

Uncomfortable anniversary in Vietnam
By Duy Hoang

Generations of French school children grew up learning never to forget
Alsace-Lorraine, territory that France lost to Prussia in the war of 1871.
Chinese students launched a protest movement in 1919 when the Treaty of
Versailles gave the Shandong Peninsula - the birthplace of Confucius - to
Japan.

To many Vietnamese today, the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly)
archipelagos off the eastern coast of Vietnam evoke the same sort of
homeland emotions. These island chains, whose ownership is contested by
multiple countries but occupied mainly by China and Vietnam, have been
claimed by Vietnamese imperial dynasties going back centuries.

They straddle strategic sea lanes in the South China Sea and are

believed to contain significant oil and gas deposits. Recently, China's
renewed assertion of sovereignty over the entire South China Sea - waters
between Vietnam and the Philippines and stretching down to Indonesia -
have enflamed nationalist passions in Vietnam. At the same time, Hanoi's
muted reaction to Beijing's stance stirred popular outrage at home and
across the diaspora.

While all Vietnamese, including the ruling communists, are keenly aware of
centuries of domination by their big northern neighbor, the Hanoi regime
is conflicted in how to deal with Beijing. It relies on China for
political support, photocopying Beijing's model of open economics and
closed politics. It is reluctant to openly criticize China, fearing that
to criticize China is to condemn itself.

For a party that came to power in the name of national independence, the
perceived legitimacy of the Vietnamese Communist Party might evaporate if
people realize how it has put the interest of the regime before that of
the nation. In a culture where history matters, there are three important
approaching anniversaries that worry Vietnam's communist leaders.

Disgraceful concession
Fifty years ago, the People's Republic of China issued a declaration
essentially claiming the entire South China Sea as an inland lake. Within
days, on September 14, 1958, prime minister Pham Van Dong of North Vietnam
sent a diplomatic note to his counterpart Chou En-lai, acknowledging
China's claim. The motivation of the Hanoi communists was simple: they
needed China's military support in the war against the US-backed South
Vietnam.

However, the Hanoi communists had given away what wasn't theirs to give.
The Geneva Accords of 1954 divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel. Both the
Paracels and Spratly are located below the 17th parallel and legally
belonged to South Vietnam. To this day, Beijing uses the Pham Van Dong
note to support its claims over the islands. This document, which never
had any legal force, is listed on the website of China's Foreign Ministry
under a section titled "International recognition of China's sovereignty
over the Nansha [Spratly] Islands".

As the 50-year anniversary of the Pham Van Dong concession approaches,
activists in Vietnam are demanding that the Hanoi government officially
recall the diplomatic note. This is a public discussion that authorities
would rather not have and it remains to be seen what the official reaction
will be. If the leadership ignores or, even worse, represses these
demands, it will confirm a growing view that the Hanoi communists were
complicit in ceding Vietnamese islands to China.

In November 2007, China formalized its annexation of the Paracels and
Spratlys by incorporating the two archipelagoes into a newly formed
administrative unit (known as "Tam Sa") governed out of Hainan province.
When this decision became known, Vietnamese students and bloggers
organized unprecedented protests outside Chinese diplomatic offices in
Hanoi and Saigon. These protests lasted two consecutive weekends until
Vietnamese security police harassed and detained many of the organizers.

As the one-year anniversary of the Tam Sa incorporation arrives,
Vietnamese youth may again take to the streets. This time, will the
government shut down blogs and imprison people for asserting Vietnam's
territorial sovereignty? In the last year, Hanoi has become a member of
the United Nations Security Council. Many are questioning whether Hanoi
will use its lofty post to advocate for an international settlement of the
South China Sea dispute.

Toward the end of the Vietnam War, China took advantage of South Vietnam's
weakening military position by attacking the Paracel Islands, which were
garrisoned by Vietnamese troops. In the naval battle of January 19, 1974,
and subsequent Chinese amphibious landings, 53 Vietnamese sailors and
soldiers lost their lives defending the islands. The Saigon government
protested the unprovoked invasion, while the Hanoi government expressed
support for China's moves against what it called "American puppets".

Now, almost 35 years later, as the old propaganda fades away, a fair
assessment of history reveals an inconvenient truth for the Hanoi
communist leadership. During the most difficult days of the country's
civil war, the Southern side which the communists always vilified,
valiantly fought to hold on to part of the fatherland. This is in contrast
to the short-sighted Northern side which welcomed the Chinese occupation
of the Paracels for its near-term war aims.

By Vietnamese custom, ancestors and national heroes are venerated. Some 35
years after the Battle of the Paracel Islands, bloggers and historians in
Vietnam are beginning to revisit the history. This creates another dilemma
for the regime: will it prevent citizens from publicly discussing the
past? How will authorities react to remembrance ceremonies for the 53
Vietnamese sailors and soldiers who died in battle?

Two conflicts, one solution
There are really two brewing conflicts arising from the disputed islands
in the South China Sea. The first conflict is between China, Vietnam and
other countries with a stake in the outcome.

Beijing's thirst for energy supplies and desire for global prominence has
led to an increasingly aggressive stance, threatening freedom of
navigation, fishing rights and contracts for energy exploration. The issue
of the South China Sea needs to be elevated to regional and international
fora where a peaceful resolution acceptable to all parties can be
achieved.

The second conflict is between Vietnam's rulers and its people. Because
the interests of the two are not necessarily aligned, how Hanoi and many
Vietnamese people want to address the issue differs. As on the
international level, there needs to be a free and open discussion within
Vietnam regarding the history of the Paracels and Spratlys and on ways to
resolve Vietnam's claims.

The matter of these islands can be explosive, and the Hanoi leadership
knows it. During a meeting this summer, the Communist Party's Central
Committee discussed the growing dissatisfaction among students and
intellectuals with how the government was responding to Chinese
aggressiveness, and came up with no remedies.

The solution to the South China Sea problem is open, frank dialogue on the
international level and within Vietnam. The Hanoi regime must be willing
to raise the matter in international fora and the Vietnamese people must
have the right to freely express their views on this issue of national
importance.

The failure of the Communist Party to defend Vietnam's territorial
sovereignty and its insistence on repressing domestic expressions of
patriotism call into question the very legitimacy of its rule.

Duy Hoang is a US-based leader of Viet Tan, a pro-democracy, unsanctioned
political party active in Vietnam.