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Vietnam
ChinaDiplomacy

Chinese survey ship involved in South China Sea stand-off with Vietnam back home, tracker says

  • Haiyang Dizhi 8 in waters close to Macau as of 4pm Friday, MarineTraffic reports
  • Vessel’s work in disputed waters ‘now complete’, foreign ministry says

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The Haiyang Dizhi 8 was close to Macau as of Friday afternoon, according to the MarineTraffic maritime information service. Photo: Weibo
Laura Zhou
The Chinese survey ship that has been at the centre of a stand-off with Vietnam in the South China Sea was back in waters close to home on Friday afternoon, according to an online platform that provides information about maritime activity.

As of 4pm, the Haiyang Dizhi 8 (Marine Geology 8), which had been operating close to Vanguard Bank – a disputed reef in the Spratly Island chain claimed by both Beijing and Hanoi – was located just off Macau, the MarineTraffic service said.

China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that the vessel had finished the work it had started “in Chinese-controlled waters in early July”.

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“According to our understanding the work is now complete,” spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing, without elaborating.

The Japanese oil rig, Hakuryu 5, is reported to have completed its drilling mission near Vanguard Bank earlier this week. Photo: Japan Drilling Co
The Japanese oil rig, Hakuryu 5, is reported to have completed its drilling mission near Vanguard Bank earlier this week. Photo: Japan Drilling Co
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While in the Vanguard Reef area, the Haiyang Dizhi 8, escorted by heavily armed coastguard vessels, made multiple passes by an oil block operated by Russian energy company Rosneft.
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