Chinese oil rig’s return in South China Sea, off coast of Vietnam, touches nerve in Hanoi
Beijing’s deployment of Haiyangshihou 981 in 2014 caused a diplomatic crisis between two neighbours, so was is it back?
China’s gigantic oil rig, Haiyangshihou 981, is no stranger to the Vietnamese.
Its latest appearance near the Southeast Asian nation’s coast renewed focus on crucial question: how should Vietnam deal with its aggressive yet economically important neighbour without angering it?
Analysts said the recent deployment of the oil rig, together with test flights of civilian planes over the disputed Spratly Islands, in the South China Sea, were part of China’s vigorous efforts to further establish its presence in the area.
READ MORE: Vietnam warns Beijing over oil rig activities in South China Sea
However, the timing of the deployment – coinciding with the Vietnamese Communist Party’s meeting to pick new leaders – has touched a nerve in the country.
“Beijing is trying to give a warning to the next leadership,” said a Vietnamese diplomat, referring to the recent sighting of the oil rig at the mouth of the Gulf of Tonkin and civilian flights to a newly completed airfield at Fiery Cross Reef.
The reef is controlled by China, but also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan.
The deep-water rig, which in 2014 caused the worst diplomatic crisis between the two neighbours in decades, occupies a disputed area that is yet to be delimited, according to the Vietnamese foreign ministry.
Hanoi has called on Beijing to stop drilling and withdraw the rig, but the Chinese foreign ministry has insisted it was operating in China’s “undisputed” waters.
