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Vietnam defends building activities in South China Sea

HANOI — Responding to calls by the United States to halt island-building activities in the South China Sea, Vietnam yesterday said it has not expanded the size of its islands, but has merely done work to prevent wave erosion.

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter (left) yesterday handed his Vietnamese counterpart Phung Quang Thanh a diary and a belt that belonged to Vietnamese communist soldiers from the Vietnam War. Photo: Reuters

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter (left) yesterday handed his Vietnamese counterpart Phung Quang Thanh a diary and a belt that belonged to Vietnamese communist soldiers from the Vietnam War. Photo: Reuters

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HANOI — Responding to calls by the United States to halt island-building activities in the South China Sea, Vietnam yesterday said it has not expanded the size of its islands, but has merely done work to prevent wave erosion.

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter, who was visiting Vietnam as part of his 11-day Asian tour, told a joint news conference with Vietnamese Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh that they had discussed his proposal for a permanent halt to reclamation and militarisation of the islands and that Vietnam was considering the idea.

“Vietnam has recently conducted consolidation on the islands under its sovereignty,” Mr Thanh told reporters, noting that Vietnamese troops were stationed on nine “floating islands” and 12 “submerged islands” in the region. “On the floating islands, we conducted embankment (consolidation) to prevent them from waves and erosion, to ensure safety for people and soldiers stationed on the islands.”

“On the submerged islands, we built only small houses, which can accommodate a few people, and we are not expanding. The scope and characteristic of our work are purely civilian,” he said.

Submerged islands feature underwater reefs, while floating islands are those with surfaces above the water or which can be built from submerged islands by adding steel structure, soil, rocks and concrete.

Mr Carter called for an immediate halt to land reclamation and further militarisation last week in Hawaii and again at the Shangri-La Dialogue over the weekend in Singapore.

The US defence secretary has made maritime security the key focus of his Asia tour, amid concerns over China’s massive constructions in the disputed waters, adding 809ha of land in about 18 months, most of it done this year. Other claimants to the waters are Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Mr Carter noted that other countries, including Vietnam, have conducted reclamation projects in the region and urged them all to stop. But he said China’s activities had outstripped those done by others and were undermining security. The sighting in US surveillance imagery of two mobile artillery vehicles on Chinese artificial islands has sparked fears of militarisation in the region.

While in Hanoi, Mr Carter also said in an interview with the BBC that the US would continue to play a pivotal role in Asia in the future. He said Washington could help ensure “peace and prosperity” in the region — the only way “everyone gets to rise and win”.

Mr Carter and Mr Thanh yesterday signed a US-Vietnam Joint Vision Statement to guide future military cooperation between the former foes, which fought a war between 1955 and 1975 and normalised ties only 20 years ago. “We’re both committed to deepening our defence relationship,” Mr Carter said. “We had a very in-depth discussion that extended well over an hour and a half, because there’s so much we’re doing together.”

As part of the expanding cooperation, Mr Carter announced that the US would help Vietnam set up a site to train troops for United Nations peacekeeping operations and would send an expert on peacekeeping to Hanoi.

On Sunday, Mr Carter visited the Vietnamese navy and coast guard headquarters and pledged US$18 million (S$24.3 million) to help Vietnam buy US patrol boats. AGENCIES

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