CHINA DISPATCHES OIL RIGS TO SOUTH CHINA SEA

摘要

Relations between China and Vietnam deteriorated in May 2014 when Beijing moved a deep-sea oil rig into disputed waters in the South China Sea, sparking riots and protests in Vietnam and accusations from both sides of ramming by the other's vessels. China withdrew its Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig in July 2014. The energy company behind the project said that it had finished explorations near the Paracel Islands, which are claimed by Vietnam. "The mission has been completed smoothly as planned, and oil and gas has been discovered," the China National Petroleum Corp. posted on its website in July 2014. Beijing and Hanoi are embroiled in a bitter territorial dispute over claims in the area; Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan also have claims elsewhere in the resource-rich South China Sea.