China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Watch Out China: Vietnam's Coast Guard Will Fight Back

Sep 11, 2015 | Ankit Panda, The Diplomat
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Starting October 20, 2015, Vietnamese coast guard vessels will be permitted to use on-board weapons to deter and repel foreign boats. According to a report by Vietnam’s Thanh Nien news agency, the country’s government has introduced a new regulation which allows the coast guard to play a more active role in defense. The move is almost certainly a response to concerns about China’s attempts at asserting its claims to waters disputed between it and Vietnam, best encapsulated in last summer’s stand-off over China’s Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig, which entered Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Chinese and Vietnamese vessels rammed and capsized each other at the time, and vessels from both sides exchanged water cannon fire.