Professor, Ph.D. in history Dmitry Mosyakov from the Russian Academy of Sciences has called upon China to stop oil & gas operations in the disputed waters and avoid a similar mistake it made in 1992.

Mosyakov, Director of the Moscow-based Center for South-East Asia, Australia and Oceania Studies, said he has followed with keen interest recent tensions in the East Sea after China deployed its giant deep water oil rig HD-981 and escort vessels, including military ships, in Vietnam’s territorial waters.

In articles published on New Oriental Outlook and Multipolar World magazines, he said China’s intentional act is one of its following steps towards claiming its sovereignty in the contested waters in the East Sea that is leading a dramatic escalation in the region.

China’s move has received strong objections from Vietnam and the international community.

Professor Mosyakov stressed that China should not repeat a mistake it made in 1992 when it signed a contract with the Creston Energy Corporation of the US to exploit oil in Vanguard Bank on Vietnam’s continental shelf, and later encountered strong opposition from Vietnam.

Professor Mosyakov at a workshop on East Sea in Moscow in 2014

Regarding recent tensions, Mosyakov said Vietnam will exert a greater effort to absolutely protect its sovereignty and persistently persuade China to stop provocative acts and abandon its ambitions in the East Sea.

He explained China’s decision not only complicates the situation but runs counter to on-going efforts to strengthen friendship and cooperation between China and Southeast Asian nations.

Such a move will eventually lead to conflicts and face stiff opposition from Southeast Asian nations, forcing them to consider a pro-US policy which is detrimental to China given the current global context.

He called on China to put an immediate end to oil and gas exploration in the disputed area until sovereign disputes in the East Sea are settled completely.