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Beijing Preps 10-Story Oil Drilling Platform for South China Sea despite Wary
Vietnam

Ralph Jennings

   TAIPEI, TAIWAN - China has developed a giant new offshore oil
   exploration platform for possible use in disputed tracts of sea, a move
   that would anger Vietnam and extend years of energy-related disputes
   between the two Asian neighbors.

   The platform dubbed Haiyang Shiyou 982 sits over the sea now, ready to
   seek oil deposits up to 9,000 meters deep, a Chinese social media
   account run by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission
   reported Wednesday.

   Boats from Vietnam and China rammed one another in 2014 after China
   allowed an offshore oil firm to position the platform's predecessor,
   Haiyang Shiyou 981, in disputed waters. Earlier this year, Vietnam
   asked a Chinese survey vessel to leave Vanguard Bank, a maritime
   feature where the Southeast Asian country is looking for fuel under the
   seabed.

   Expect more resistance if Haiyang Shiyou 982 ruffles Vietnam, analysts
   warn.

   "They will have some kind of reaction for sure, because the South China
   Sea is by no means cool in terms of temperature," said Alan Chong,
   associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International
   Studies in Singapore. "It can flare up at any moment."

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