China withdraws oil rig from Sout China Sea

China withdraws oil rig from Sout China Sea

BEIJING (AFP): China has withdrawn an exploratory oil rig in
the South China Sea in an area disputed with Vietnam, a senior
official with the China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) said
yesterday.

"After completing its normal work, the Kantan III has been
withdrawn," said Yang Chunbao, an official in the CNOOC general
manager's office.

He refused to say whether the platform had been withdrawn on
government orders.

But a foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing also confirmed the
move saying: "The Chinese exploration ship Kantan III has already
come home as planned after completing its normal activities."

Earlier, the director of the maritime department in Vietnam's
border commission, Huynh Minh Chinh said the platform and its
support boats were withdrawn on April 1, following strong
protests from Hanoi over its deployment.

But both the Chinese and Vietnamese foreign ministries
confirmed that expert-level talks on the dispute, earlier
scheduled for April 9, would still go ahead as planned.

These expert-level talks are to be held in Beijing at Hanoi's
request.

"The Chinese government always follows the fundamental
principles of international law in resolving disputes through
peaceful means and it stands for settling its disputes with the
country concerned through friendly negotiations," the Chinese
spokesman said.

The disputed zone lies south of the Tonkin Gulf, almost
equidistant from the central-Vietnamese coast and the Chinese
island of Hainan and is believed to be rich in natural gas.

It is not covered by regular bilateral talks on contested
areas in the South China Sea.

The dispute flared on March 7 when a Chinese oil rig moved
into the contested area prompting Vietnam to demand that China
move it.