South China Sea sovereignty disputes are “intractable,” worsened by China’s increased capacity to enforce claims and attempts to stop Vietnam’s efforts to form a united front, said Carlyle Thayer, a politics professor.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered to mediate between China and Japan last month after a collision of boats from the two nations sparked a war of words. Also in October, Vietnam demanded that China release a fishing vessel seized in or near disputed waters and last week protested a Chinese map’s depiction of areas in what Vietnam calls “the Eastern Sea.”
