China withdraws Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig from Vietnam's waters

At 7:00 a.m. on July 16, the Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig moved about 37 nautical miles from its previous location, heading toward Hainan Island. Chinese forces also gradually withdrew from the Hoang Sa waters.

On the morning of July 16, Commander of the Coast Guard, Major General Nguyen Quang Dam said that the Haiyang 981 drilling rig was moving at a speed of over 4 nautical miles per hour.

"To bring the Haiyang 981 drilling rig to Hainan Island, it will take China about 2 days to move," General Dam said.

Last night, after 75 days of illegally placing the Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone, China announced the withdrawal of the Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig from the sea area near Triton Island in Vietnam's Hoang Sa archipelago. Observing on the field at the end of July 15, the Coast Guard discovered that the drilling rig had moved about 8 nautical miles.

Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig that China illegally placed in Vietnam's waters. Photo: Nguyen Dong.

Fisheries surveillance forces also recorded signs of the Haiyang drilling rig and escort ships moving at 9 p.m. on July 15 toward Hainan Island (China).

"The Thunderstorm entering the East Sea could be one of the reasons why China withdrew the drilling rig," the Coast Guard Commander said.

Mr. Dam also said, "Vietnam's law enforcement forces are still monitoring all activities of the drilling rig, protecting the sea and exclusive economic zone of the Fatherland. At the same time, they are planning to avoid storms."

China's deployment of the 981 oil rig in the East Sea violates Vietnam's sovereignty and hinders the negotiation process to resolve the dispute. Photo: China News.

According to Xinhua, the Haiyang Shiyou 981 rig stopped operating after drilling two wells and detecting signs of oil and gas. It will be moved to the site of a project called Hainan Lingshui. It is not yet clear where the next project that Haiyang Shiyou 981 will locate. Lingshui is an area located south of Hainan Island.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation did not specify the estimated reserves, only saying it would "evaluate the data obtained and decide on the next steps".

Typhoon Rammasun, which means "Thunder God" in Thai, is considered the strongest since last year's super typhoon Haiyan, with wind gusts of 150 km/h, just landed on Luzon Island (Philippines) on the evening of July 15, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate and Manila to a red alert. The path of the Thunder God is forecast to pass through the Hoang Sa sea area.

Professor Carl Thayer, a famous expert on the East Sea, working at the Australian Defense Force Academy, once commented that China will withdraw its oil rig on or before August 15 to avoid the big storm season at sea.

"The storms will give China an opportunity to de-escalate," he said.

According to VnExpress