Vietnam condemns neighbours' plans for Spratlys 10-09-2004

Vietnam condemns neighbours' plans for Spratly Islands
10/09/2004 14:00:22 | ABC Radio Australia News

Vietnam has criticised plans by China and the Philippines to map potential oil deposits around the Spratly Islands, and has reaffirmed its sovereignty over the disputed South China Sea archipelago.

The new row threatens to raise regional tensions in the region just months after Vietnam angered its five fellow claimants to the Spratlys by sending a boatload of tourists to the islands.

A Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesman has accused China and the Philippines of deviating from a 2002 agreement.

He says the Vietnamese government is very concerned at the signing in Beijing between China and the Philippines without any consultation with the other parties involved.

China and the Philippines last week announced a three-year project to gather data on petroleum resources around the Spratlys.

The potentially oil-rich Spratly Islands are claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.