A 2014 photo how a Chinese coast guard ship being blocked by three Vietnamese Coast Guard Vessels. Photo: AP

When you’re in a geopolitical dispute with your bigger, stronger neighbor, the last thing you want is Russia taking their side. That’s exactly what’s happening to Vietnam in the South China Sea. Vietnam and China 7 have had a longstanding row involving the reach of Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In recent weeks, a Chinese research ship and five escort vessels defied Vietnam’s orders to leave its EEZ, in an area near gas blocks operated by Russian firms. The episode exemplifies China’s increasing aggression in the South China Sea. It also reveals an important aspect of China’s “partnership” with Russia. China’s incursions into Vietnamese waters are nothing new. In 2017, China threatened to attack Vietnamese outposts unless Vietnam stopped drilling operations in a disputed area. The Spanish oil firm Repsol, which had been exploring in partnership with state-owned PetroVietnam, complied. During 2019, in a months-long standoff, Chinese vessels harassed Vietnamese hydrocarbon survey efforts in Vanguard Bank. In June 2020, China pressured PetroVietnam to cancel production-sharing contracts with Repsol for two blocks. A month later, PetroVietnam rejected a drilling contract with NobleNE +5% Corporation for another nearby block. Both decisions cost PetroVietnam financial and reputational damage. Concurrently with other attempts to establish “jurisdiction” over neighboring waters, China has ramped up its incursions into Vietnam’s EEZ. Since January 2022, Vietnam has observed Chinese Coast Guard vessels patrolling through energy exploration blocks operated by Russian firms within Vietnam’s EEZ more than 40 times. This month’s episode follows a similar one in March in which Chinese Coast Guard ships sailed through areas operated in part by Russia’s state-controlled Zarubezhneft and Gazprom. China denied knowledge of any patrols in those blocks. When Vietnam demanded the ships leave earlier this month, they were in a block operated by Vietgazprom, a joint venture between Gazprom and PetroVietnam. In response to the episode, a Chinese spokeswoman commented that “Relevant ships of China carry out normal activities under China’s jurisdiction. It is legitimate and lawful, and there is no issue of entering other countries’ exclusive economic zones.” China appears to be using its research activities to cement its illegal claim to “jurisdiction” over neighboring waters outside the boundaries established by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which China is a signatory. It is denying that it has entered Vietnam’s EEZ. Employing a strategy known as legal warfare or lawfare, China has similarly claimed jurisdiction over areas of the Philippines’ EEZ and even the Taiwan Strait—claims which have no basis in international law. It has even used a spy vessel to conduct “research” in the Philippines’ internal waters. Vietnam is getting tougher on China. Late last year, Vietnam settled a 12-year maritime boundary dispute with Indonesia, setting the stage for tensions with China. The Vietnam-Indonesia agreement was based on UNCLOS. Although China is a signatory to UNCLOS, it rejects application of the treaty to most of the South China Sea, and instead claims most of the South China Sea based on calculated misinterpretations of international law. In 2016, an arbitral tribunal invalidated China’s sweeping claims and ruled that maritime boundaries in the South China Sea must not exceed those established by UNCLOS. China has rejected the ruling, has spoken out strongly against its neighbors when they refer to it publicly, and has condemned Vietnam when it has threatened a similar lawsuit. China has resisted Vietnam’s attempts to follow and enforce international law. China expanded its patrols right before Indonesia and Vietnam signed their agreement in December. Chinese vessels have also patrolled the nearby Tuna gas field in Indonesia’s EEZ, and Indonesia deployed a warship in January to monitor a Chinese ship there. The fields that China has been entering this spring are close to the Vietnam’s strategic boundary with Indonesia’s EEZ, as well as other blocks claimed by China. Previously, China tried to insert into the negotiating text of ASEAN’s proposed South China Sea Code of Conduct a stipulation that neighboring states must conduct all economic activity in the South China Sea by themselves and not in cooperation with companies or countries from outside the region. This requirement would severely restrict state sovereignty and be nearly impossible to follow for states without the capital and technology to explore alone. It would also pave the way for China to become their default partner of choice—enabling China to more easily assert “jurisdiction.” Vietnam must continue to fight China’s attempts to restrict its sovereignty and choke its revenue. For all of its differences with the West and its Southeast Asian neighbors, Vietnam agrees with them on the 8 importance of UNCLOS. Vietnam and its neighbors should work to continue to settle their maritime disputes in accordance with UNCLOS, supported by the United States and other law-abiding nations. By establishing and enforcing UNCLOS as the governing principle of maritime boundaries in the South China Sea, a coalition of supporters of international law can push back against China’s aggression. The episode also reveals an important facet of the new “partnership” between China and Russia. Russia has become more reliant on energy sales to China since Russia invaded Ukraine. While it is unclear what the “no-limits” partnership means, China’s incursions into Russian-operated gas fields, even those jointly operated with Vietnam, shows that Russia will tacitly approve as China violates international law. Russia’s backing makes it even more important that law-abiding nations rally around UNCLOS and international law. When two superpowers line up against the international legal order, law-abiding nations must push back hard to keep it from crumbling. Source: Forbes Aerospace & Defense INS Vikrant will be Fully Operational by November 2023: Na