Vietnam to China: Shift Rig, Abandon Drilling Plans
Vietnam demanded China move a controversial oil rig on Thursday and abandon plans to start drilling in waters where jurisdiction is unclear, the latest sign of festering unease among the two communist neighbours. The $1 billion rig, which was at the centre of a fierce diplomatic stand-off between the countries in 2014, had moved into an area of the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea about which Vietnam said the two countries were still "executing delineation discussions". China calls the rig Haiyang Shiyou 981. Vietnam refers to it as Hai Duong 981.
Controversial China Rig Completes Drilling off Vietnam
The Chinese oil rig at the centre of last year's standoff between China and Vietnam over oil exploration in the South China Sea has completed drilling of a well not far from Vietnam's coast, the official Xinhua News Agency said on Monday. Xinhua did not give coordinates for the well, but the China's Maritime Safety Administration website earlier put the drilling site just over 100 nautical miles from the coast of Vietnam and 75 nautical miles south of the resort city of Sanya on China's Hainan Island.
Today in U.S. Naval History: August 7
Today in U.S. Naval History - August 7 1782 - Badge of Military Merit (Purple Heart) established 1942 - Navy Amphibious Task Force lands Marines on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands in first U.S. land offensive of World War II 1964 - Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed by Congress For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.
