Vietnam threatens legal action against China

Vietnam's prime minister said Thursday that his country was considering legal action against China, which deployed an oil rig earlier this month to disputed waters, prompting anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam and a tense standoff between ships from both countries in the area.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said Vietnam would defend its territory but would never resort to military action "unless we are forced to take self-defense actions."

"Like all countries, Vietnam is considering various defense options, including legal actions in accordance with the international law," said Dung, who held talks with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III in Manila that focused on their territorial rifts with China.

Dung did not specify what legal action Hanoi was considering. Last year, the Philippines filed a complaint against China before an international tribunal in The Hague to challenge the legality of its sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea.

At least two Vietnamese diplomats have told The AP earlier that Vietnam might now file its own appeal or join Manila's legal challenge against China. A senior Philippine government official told The AP that Dung and other Vietnamese officials mentioned that plan to their Philippine counterparts in closed-door meetings on Wednesday.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea as its own, bringing it into conflict with Vietnam, the Philippines and three other governments that have rival claims. Beijing also has a territorial dispute with Japan over a cluster of islands in the East China Sea.

Many fear that long-seething territorial disputes in the resource-rich South China Sea could spark Asia's next major armed conflict. Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan also have overlapping territorial claims in the strategic area.

Aquino did not mention the territorial disputes with China when he and Dung faced journalists but said they discussed how their countries could enhance defense and economic ties, adding that both governments aim to double two-way trade to $3 billion in two years.

The Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally, has been more vocal in opposing China than Vietnam, which has been trying to quietly resolve its territorial dispute with Beijing. But Hanoi was incensed by the deployment of the oil rig on May 1, leading to speculation it would shift its approach.

China and the Philippines are in a standoff over another South China Sea reef, the Second Thomas Shoal. Chinese coast guard ships have three times attempted to block Filipino vessels delivering new military personnel and food supplies to Philippine marines keeping watch on the disputed area on board a long-grounded ship.

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press