Fire ice - China’s new energy ambition Dr. Tran Cong Truc talks about China’s new moves and its conspiracy in the East East as well as Vietnam’s ability to sue China. Dr. Tran Cong Truc, former head of the National Border Committee. Q: Why did China deploy the Nanhai 09 oil rig at the mouth of the Gulf of Tonkin? Dr. Tran Cong Truc: I think China's anchoring of Nanhai 09 oil rig in the overlapping area at the mouth of the Gulf of Tonkin, of course, was for the purpose of exploration drilling. Many argue that China's deployment of this oil rig is just a move to achieve political and military purposes, not for economic reasons, because this area has no oil. I disagree entirely. I agree that they do so to realize their "U-shaped line" claims, with the ambition to monopolize the East Sea and to become a maritime power. But if you say that the deployment of the oil rig is not for economic reasons, I disagree. Through their building of oil rigs worth billions of US dollars, their use of escort forces to move the oil rigs to a number of areas, which is very costly, I think they do so for not only political and military purposes but also economic purposes. This is the exclusive economic zone, the area that has not much value in terms of military strategy, because the present era is an era of the modern military and they don’t need a large space to master. To control this area, they have to master natural resources here, including oil and gas, minerals, fishery resources, and shipping activities. If China can do so, they will turn the East Sea into their own "pond". The second thing, based on the information I’ve got and China’s moves, we should not forget that Hoang Sa Archipelago (Paracels Islands) has a very valuable natural resource – it is fire ice, which is believed to be the energy of the future. To exploit fire ice, they must have modern technology since this natural resource is at a depth of about 3,000 meters. The HD-981 drilling rig is designed to exploit at this depth. China built oil rigs worth billions of US dollars not to play, but to satisfy their "thirst" for energy. Q: Do you think that China will put more oil rigs in the East Sea in the future? Dr. Tran Cong Truc: In my opinion, this is the main objective of China: scrambling for the waters where we are exploring oil and gas. They may not exploit fire ice right now. The immediate target is robbing Vietnam’s waters. If China used the oil rig for political purpose, that would be too simple and they did not need to use such a large rig and did not need to mobilize such a large force. Q: What is China’s conspiracy in the East Sea? Dr. Tran Cong Truc: That question has been raised by many people, not only me, because China’s statements and actions are not the same, so it is very difficult to know what it wants and what it plans to do. A scholar compared China to an elephant, which has different shapes if people look at it from different positions. In fact, China’s varied activities and its tricks have made many people misunderstand. We have to see the nature of this elephant. Personally, I think that the policy of China is reaching the ocean, using the East Sea as the only gateway to rise into a maritime superpower. The East Sea is their only path, not the East China Sea. Q: Why? Because in the East Sea, they have to face small Southeast Asian countries, but in the East China Sea, they have to face major countries such as Japan? Dr. Tran Cong Truc: Yes, partly. In the South China Sea they have to face major countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, which have security treaties with the US. This is what they have to take into account. More importantly, the East Sea has bigger strategic value than the South China Sea. It is one of the world's largest maritime route, with huge natural resources, and the market of Southeast Asia is also great ... Geopolitically and economically, this area is more significant than the East China Sea. The East Sea has been identified that way since the People's Republic of China was born, and even before that, and they have not changed. They are determined to realize the "Chinese dream", turning China into a maritime power before becoming a superpower to compete with the role of the United States. The recent 18th Party Congress of China reaffirmed that and the determination of the new leadership of China is much more powerful. We know that immediately after Xi Jinping became Chinese President, then there was a meeting of the Politburo on the issue. It means that they have prepared a strategic determination, a political determination in this matter. And they do it with sophisticated calculations. Currently I think they are making their move as part of an international game, not just based on the current situation between Vietnam and China. China in recent times made an early move, and now they are waiting for an opportunity in an international situation to fulfill their dream. Q: Like the situation in Europe, particularly, in Ukraine and the Middle East? Dr. Tran Cong Truc: Yes, that’s right. They have close relations with each other and that’s their concern. They think that the United States, the West, and Russia are focusing on the hot spot, where people think to be on the crater of a new war. For example, they know that the Russians want to search for a new partner (energy) to rebalance with the United States and other Western countries, so Russia needs China. We hope that we do not create a spark, an excuse to make the flames flare up. This is China’s conspiracy. The current situation is still complicated and it will be prolonged. The problems in the Middle East and Ukraine cannot be solved right now. Q: As the former head of the National Border Committee, do you have any idea on dealing the disputes with China? Dr. Tran Cong Truc: I strongly support the Prime Minister's speech that Vietnam will not trade sovereignty and territorial integrity for any illusory ties of friendship. I think this is a theorem, a truth that we need to continue. We cannot rely on political issues to resolve territorial issues, but we have to resolve the dispute based on immutable principles - the rights and legitimate interests, on the basis of the principles of international law recognized by humankind. Dan Tri