Vietnam on Thursday called for the “immediate withdrawal” of a Chinese ship in the South China Sea, as the standoff over the disputed waters intensified.
Beijing last week issued a new call for Hanoi to respect its claims to the resource-rich region -- which have historically been contested by Vietnam as well as Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
Hanoi responded by saying it had sent several messages to Beijing insisting that a Chinese survey ship vacate its waters, and doubled down Thursday with new demands for the vessel's removal.
“Vietnam has had several appropriate diplomatic exchanges... Requesting immediate withdrawal from Vietnam's exclusive economic zone,” a foreign ministry spokeswoman told reporters, while refusing to disclose the ship's precise location.
“Vietnam resolutely and persistently protects our sovereign rights... By peaceful means on the basis of international laws,” Le Thi Thu Hang added.
The ship, owned by the government-run China Geological Survey, begun research around the contested Spratly Islands on July 3, according to the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Before it was spotted, a Chinese coast guard vessel also patrolled near Vietnamese supply ships in a “threatening manner”, CSIS said.