Chinese survey ship returns to Vietnam's exclusive economic zone

By Khanh Vu and James Pearson
HANOI, April 14 (Reuters) - A Chinese survey ship that was
embroiled in a standoff with Vietnamese vessels last year in the
disputed South China Sea has returned to waters within Vietnam's
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), ship tracking data showed on
Tuesday.
Beginning last July, Vietnamese vessels spent months
shadowing the Chinese Haiyang Dizhi 8 survey vessel in
resource-rich waters that are a potential global flashpoint as
the United States challenges China's sweeping maritime claims.

On Tuesday, the ship, which is used to conduct offshore
seismic surveys, could again be seen 158 km (98 miles) off
Vietnam's coast flanked by at least one China Coast Guard
vessel, according to data from Marine Traffic, a website that
tracks shipping.
At least three Vietnamese vessels were moving with the
Chinese ship, according to Marine Traffic data.
Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately
respond to a request from Reuters for comment.
The presence of the Haiyang Dizhi 8 in Vietnam's EEZ comes
towards the scheduled end of a 15-day nationwide lockdown in
Vietnam designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
It also follows the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat
near islands in the disputed waters, an act that drew a protest
from Vietnam and accusations that China had violated its
sovereignty and threatened the lives of its fishermen.

The United States, which last month sent an aircraft carrier
to the central Vietnamese port of Danang, said it was "seriously
concerned" about China's reported sinking of the vessel and
urged it to instead focus on global efforts to fight the
coronavirus. The Philippines, which also has disputed claims in the South
China Sea, has raised its concerns too.
Vietnam and China have for years been at loggerheads over
the potentially energy-rich waters, called the East Sea by
Vietnam.
China's U-shaped "nine-dash line" on its maps marks a vast
expanse of the waters that it claims, including large parts of
Vietnam's continental shelf where it has awarded oil
concessions.
"The deployment of the vessel is Beijing's move to once
again baselessly assert its sovereignty in the South China Sea,"
said Ha Hoang Hop, at the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak
Institute.
During last year's standoff, at least one China Coast Guard
vessel spent weeks in waters close to an oil rig in a Vietnamese
oil block, operated by Russia's Rosneft ROSN.MM while the
Haihyang Dizhi 8 conducted suspected oil exploration surveys in
large expanses of Vietnam's EEZ.