AFP via Google Hosted News ^ | 12 June 2011 | Ian Timberlake
Vietnam on Monday held live-fire naval drills in the tense South China Sea, a move that analysts see as raising the risk of a "showdown" with Beijing in a deepening territorial rift.
A long-standing dispute between the communist neighbours over sovereignty of two potentially oil-rich archipelagos has erupted again following recent sea confrontations that have sunk relations to their lowest point in years.
A first barrage of live gunfire, lasting about four hours, took place in the morning near Hon Ong island, said a naval officer based in the central city of Danang who asked not to be named.
"Similar firing is planned this evening in the same place but the Vietnamese Navy will change the method of firing," said the officer, who declined to say how many ships have been mobilised.
The drill, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) off Quang Nam province in central Vietnam, involves gunfire and not missiles, he said.
Although Vietnam's foreign ministry described it as routine annual training, the exercise has raised temperatures in the South China Sea, said David Koh, a Vietnam analyst from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
"But I do not think there is much of a choice right now," Koh said, adding that ultimately he foresees "a showdown on the seas".
The drills are inside the area Vietnam claims as its 200 nautical mile economic zone. Hanoi last month accused Chinese surveillance vessels of cutting the exploration cables of an oil survey ship inside the area.
On Thursday, Vietnam alleged a similar incident in the zone, saying a Chinese fishing boat rammed the cables of another oil survey ship in a "premeditated" attack.
Beijing countered by warning Vietnam to halt all activities that it says violate China's sovereignty in the disputed area.
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