AP reported on Tuesday that Vietnamese officials told China to remove the CNOOC 981 rig from waters claimed by both countries.
China reportedly sanctioned the rig over the weekend in what is being called a “provocative step” in the ongoing stoush over sovereignty.
According to AP, Vietnamese foreign minister Pham Binh Minh told Chinese state councillor Yang Jiechi that the deployment of the rig, which was accompanies by military vessels, was illegal and a violation of Vietnamese sovereignty.
The government demanded China withdraw the rig, but China claimed that the rig was in Chinese territorial waters.
– Upstream