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| China rejects Vietnam claims on disputed islands |
| 06/Jan/2010 Intellasia | E Taiwan News |
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| 6 Jan, 2010 - 9:49:28 AM |
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China yesterday reasserted claims over South China Sea island groups at the heart of a multinational territorial dispute considered a potential Asian flashpoint.
China has "indisputable sovereignty" over the Spratly and Paracel islands, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said, rejecting recent comments from Vietnam, which also asserts dominion over the islands believed to sit above large oil and natural gas reserves in strategic shipping lanes. Chinese forces seized the western Paracels from Vietnam in 1974 and sunk three Vietnamese naval vessels in a 1988 sea battle. The sides have yet to demarcate their sea border and many Vietnamese remain suspicious of their giant northern neighbor.
Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga on Monday protested a Chinese plan to develop tourism in the region, saying it "seriously violates Vietnam's sovereignty causes tension and further complicates the situation." That followed the Chinese Cabinet's unveiling of plans Monday to transform the southern island of Hainan into a major international tourism destination over the next decade.
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1148260&lang=eng_news
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