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Vietnam must take stronger actions to deal with Chinese aggression, through the application of international law, said an international lawyer.

Ship Viking II which has exploration cables cut by Chinense ships on June 9

Nguyen Toan Thang, from the Faculty of International Law, Hanoi Law University, said Vietnam must pursue peaceful negotiations, and abide by its commitments not to use force to settle international disputes. However, he said, the actions taken so far are insufficient.

Vietnam has never settled any disputes through international courts and arbitration. However, after Chinese ships cut exploration cables of Vietnamese seismic study vessels two times, in the period from May 26 to June 9, Vietnam should use international courts if negotiations with China fail to bring about results.

“We have requested compensation from China for cutting the exploration cables on the ship Binh Minh 02 on May 26. Not only did China not provide compensation, but there has been continued aggressive behaviour. On June 9, another ship, named the Viking II was attacked. We should deal with this matter through international courts." Thang said.

According to Article 287 of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Vietnam can bring the Chinese invasion cases to international arbitration courts.

“Vietnam should also increase its maritime patrols on the East Sea. If Chinese violations into our territorial waters continue, we should drive them off using measures that are in line with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Under Article 73, coastal nations may take necessary measures to protect their territory, including arrest, fines or trial in court for the individuals responsible," he said.

Recently, at both Shangrila Dialogue and ASEAN Regional Forum, China claimed to have no intentions of using its military in an aggressive manner against its neighbours, and also pledged a peaceful resolution to all regional disputes.

According to Thang, however, “The attack on the Binh Minh 02 is China’s way of testing the reactions of both Vietnam and other ASEAN countries. China can not find any legal justification for its ambitions in the region, so instead it sends ships to violate countries’ territorial waters.”

In Thang\'s view, the Viking II incident is China\'s way of testing whether or not Vietnam will use means beyond official requests to stop the incursions.

In this case, China sent only civil and patrol ships, and no military vessels, because it does not want to be seen as the first nation to use military force, he said. During discussions with the Philippines, China announced that there would be a military response to any that uses of force against it.

“In my opinion, China may try to provoke other nations. If these countries do not control their responses, China may seize the opportunity to use armed forces. It could lead to an incident similar to the Gulf of Tonkin," said Thang.