Vietnam, China Clash Over Oil Rig in South China Sea | The Diplomat
Vietnam says China fired water cannon, rammed ships near oil rig - Channel NewsAsiaEven while tensions continue between China and the Philippines, a new flashpoint has emerged in the South China Sea. On May 5, China's Maritime Safety Administration announced that a drilling rig owned by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) would be set up near the Paracel Islands (called Xisha by the Chinese). The announcement said the drill would be in operation for the next three months.
Vietnam has vocally denounced the move. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that the drilling rig, located 120 nautical miles from the Vietnamese coast, is located within their exclusive economic zone. According to the ministry, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh called Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi to criticize the drilling operation. Minh denounced the presence of China's drilling rig and "a large number of vessels" as illegal and a serious violation of Vietnamese sovereignty, as well as control over its EEZ. Vietnam "cannot accept but resolutely opposes China's act, and demands that it completely withdraw the drilling rig and escort vessels," Minh said.
HANOI: Hanoi said Wednesday that Chinese ships protecting a deep-water drilling rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea had used water cannon to attack Vietnamese patrol vessels and repeatedly rammed them, causing injuries.
Tensions between the communist neighbours have risen sharply since Beijing unilaterally announced last week it would move the deep-water drilling rig into disputed waters -- a move the United States has described as "provocative".Vietnam deployed patrol vessels after the China Maritime Safety Administration issued the unilateral navigational warning on its website saying it would be drilling in the South China Sea close to the Paracel Islands -- which are controlled by China but claimed by Vietnam.
Vietnam said China's decision was "illegal", demanded the rig be withdrawn, and dispatched vessels to the area.
A Chinese plane had also flown low over Vietnamese police patrol boats dispatched to the area in a bid to threaten them.
He said the Chinese "actively used water cannon to attack Vietnamese law enforcement vessels".
"The situation was very tense," he said, adding that "some Vietnamese people were injured by broken glass as a result of the clashes."
On Tuesday, the United States warned China that the decision to move the deep-sea oil rig into disputed waters in what Vietnam calls the East Sea was a "provocative" step that it was monitoring closely.