Nansha Islands (Spratly Islands) of China: news

China rejects Vietnamese complaints
Tuesday November 23, 5:42 PM
China rejects Vietnamese complaints over oil drilling in South China Sea

China on Tuesday rejected Vietnamese complaints that a Chinese oil drilling platform in the South China Sea was violating Vietnamese territory.

Vietnam said last week the platform sent from Shanghai was to work from Nov. 19 to Dec. 31 in the South China Sea, an area of conflicting claims by several governments.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue dismissed the complaint, calling the Chinese actions "normal prospecting activity."

"We believe the Vietnamese accusation based on its own views is totally groundless and is not acceptable to the Chinese side," Zhang said at a regular briefing. She said Beijing is willing to discuss the matter with Hanoi.

Vietnamese media say the site is located 117 kilometers (73 miles) off Vietnam's northern coast and 124 kilometers (77 miles) from China's southern tropical island of Hainan.

The communist neighbors have a history of territorial disputes, most recently involving the Spratly Islands, an uninhabited archipelago in the South China Sea. The area is believed to be rich in oil and natural gas and is also claimed all or in part by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.

In April, Beijing filed an official protest with Hanoi after a Vietnamese tourist boat was sent to the islands.

Five months later, Hanoi expressed its displeasure after China and the Philippines announced plans to begin research on fish and seismic activity for oil and gas in the area.

source: http://asia.news.yahoo.com/041123/ap/d86hgc380.html