Chinese survey ship returns to scene of stand-off with Vietnamese coastguard
- Vessel returns to disputed waters in the South China Sea where it has been involved in a month-long confrontation
A Chinese survey ship has returned to disputed waters in the South China Sea where it has been engaged in a month-long stand-off with the Vietnamese, according to a ship tracking analysis.
The Haiyang Dizhi 8, or Marine Geology 8, had briefly left the waters surrounding the Spratly Islands but returned on Wednesday with at least two other ships, the US-based Centre for Advanced Defence Studies said.
Many observers speculated its departure was a brief refuelling or replenishment stop for the ship at Fiery Cross Reef, one of China’s artificial island outposts in the Spratlys, according to Collin Koh, a research fellow from Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
He said he did not believe that the ship had been pulled back as a concession by China, which objects to Vietnam’s oil exploration work in the region.
“The whole objective therefore seems to be keeping up with this form of gunboat diplomacy … in what Beijing plausibly sees as a protracted struggle to hopefully compel Vietnam to concede by stopping its energy work,” he said.
The Chinese geological survey ship began surveying the area around Vanguard Bank, a Vietnamese-controlled reef, last month.