Vietnam PM berates China over rig move

China

HANOI, May 14, 2014 – On Sunday, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam cautioned China to show prudence after it began drilling for oil in a part of the South China Sea that both nations claim to be exclusively theirs.

At the opening of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Myanmar, the prime minister told Asian leaders that China “slandered and blamed Vietnam while increasing their violations.”

Other ASEAN members avoided the topic of China’s movements in disputed territory. Myanmar President Thein Sein ignored the latest developments in her opening comments to the association.

Last week, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation moved the $1-billion Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig to disputed waters 120 nautical miles off the east coast of Vietnam.

According to EIA estimates there are 110 billion barrels of oil and 5.4 tcm (190 tcf) of natural gas in the South China Sea.