Beijing demands Hanoi pull ships from Xisha

Beijing demanded on Tuesday that Hanoi "withdraw its vessels and personnel immediately" from the waters off a Chinese oil drilling site in the South China Sea.

Media reports said on Tuesday that Vietnamese ships again rammed Chinese vessels in the waters near China's Xisha Islands. "The Vietnamese are raising tensions in Chinese waters, a violation of international law and the basic rules of international relations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

China has consistently asked Vietnam to stop its use of force against the regular operations of China's oil drilling platform in the waters close to the Xisha Islands and to stop infringing on China's sovereignty, rights and interests as well as jurisdiction, Hong said.

"However, so far, the Vietnamese have continued ramming Chinese vessels," Hong added during a briefing on the problem with Vietnam.

China Daily

(China Daily 06/04/2014 page11)