VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-05-14 Emotions Run High in Vietnam Over China Dispute

 

AS IT IS 2014-05-14 Emotions Run High in Vietnam Over China Dispute

Tension is rising in Vietnam because the country’s dispute with China over a Chinese oil drilling platform.  China has set up the machine in disputed waters in the South China Sea.  Vietnamese media say the deployment¹ has led to protests across the country.  Reporter Marianne Brown is in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi.  Bob Doughty² has her story. 

Local newspapers say thousands of workers took part in the protests.  The demonstrators work at Hong Kong and Taiwanese factories in South Vietnam.  They called for China to remove the oil rig from Vietnamese waters.

The newspapers say a hotel at one seaside town refused Chinese travelers.  They reported that some Vietnamese are canceling plans to visit China.

Last weekend, hundreds of people demonstrated near the Chinese embassy in Hanoi.  Similar protests were reported across Vietnam.

Anti-China protest in front of the Chinese embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam, May 13, 2014.Anti-China protest in front of the Chinese embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam, May 13, 2014.

State-controlled media usually provide only a small number of reports about Vietnamese relations with China.  But there have been extensive reports on the dispute and the protests this week.  David Brown is a Vietnam expert and a former American diplomat³.  He says the first reports about the oil rig incident seemed more restrained, but then quickly changed.

“This was from a guy at one of the major mainstream⁴ papers who said they had been told that they could reprint anything they got from foreigners.  But they were supposed to be sort of careful about what they wrote otherwise or what they carried otherwise.  That was the first day or so.”

The Vietnamese Communist Party has long noted⁵ the economic and political importance of what it calls the East Sea.  The sea is believed to be rich in oil and natural gas.  China’s state-owned oil rig HD-981 was deployed⁶ to an area called Block 143.  But that area is not being developed. Carl Thayer is with the Australian Defense⁷ Force Academy.  He says that among oil industry officials, the area is not considered especially promising⁸.

“Block 143 is not being developed … as simple as that.  Vietnam has made little efforts to do so.  So in other words, they don’t consider it, they are just arguing to maintain their Exclusive Economic Zone.  And if you go to the next block, there are operations going there.  And ExxonMobil is a couple of fields away.”

Carl Thayer says the main issue is control of the area, not economic gain.

This was the message repeated on local Vietnamese media last weekend.  That message tied in with the government’s policy of seeking international support to stop China and avoid military action.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung released a statement at a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.  In his words, the “extremely dangerous situation has been and is directly threatening peace, stability and maritime⁹ security and safety in the East Sea.”

However, China’s Foreign Ministry¹⁰ this week denied that the South China Sea is a problem between China and ASEAN members.  Hua Chunying is a foreign ministry official.  She says China has a consensus¹¹ with ASEAN countries on guaranteeing safety in the area. 

1 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

2 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

3 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

4 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

9 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？