Chinese boats that are safeguarding China’s oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnamese waters were arranged in a different formation on Wednesday, and they appeared to be less active than before, the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance Department reported.

>> China towing second oil rig to East Vietnam Sea amid tensions>> China deploys 17 more ships to guard illegal rig in Vietnam’s waters >> Chinese vessels challenge Vietnam’s ships at 10-meter distance>> Chinese boats fail to stage scenes of ‘being rammed by Vietnamese ships China yesterday deployed 118 vessels around the rig, including 39-41 coast guard ships, 14-15 transport boats, 17-20 tugboats, 35-37 iron-clad fishing boats, and five military ships. Compared to a day before, the total number of Chinese vessels in the area went down by 18, the department said. Unlike on previous days, these ships formed the fantail shape near the rig within a very close distance between each other. Previously, they were dispatched in a scattered formation in areas farther from the drilling platform. Seen through binoculars, the oil rig’s legs have been pulled up. Colonel Luu Tien Thang, deputy political chairman of the High Command of the Vietnam Coast Guard (VGC), said, “As far as our experience is concerned, such a formation change is aimed at protecting the rig better. There must be something about to happen.” He added that he had heard China will likely move the rig again, but this has yet to happen thus far. Yesterday China sent minesweepers #840 and #843 to the area. They cruised at about 17 nautical miles per hour behind Vietnam Coast Guard ship CSB 8003 at 10:30 am. Sometimes, the distance between the Vietnamese and Chinese ships was merely 500 meters.   The local ship tried to avoid being hit by the foreign watercrafts many times. At 11:50 am, these Chinese ships sprang up again in an area about 17 nautical miles from the rig. At 1:35 pm, Chinese fixed-wing plane VB3586 hovered above the Vietnamese marine law enforcement vessels at an elevation of 300-500 meters. Regarding the Chinese vessels’ operations in the sea area, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Truong Duc Tue, deputy chief of staff of VGC Zone 1, commented: “They have become less aggressive and active than before. They have lessened their attempts to ram or fire water cannons at local vessels.” The official said many guns and artilleries on Chinese vessels have been covered with wrappings, rather than opened up and directed at Vietnamese boats as days before.Another oil rig Meanwhile, in a notice on its website on June 17, the Chinese Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) said another oil rig, Nan Hai Jiu Hao, would be towed between June 18 and 20 by a tugboat from its existing location, at 17°38' North latitude and 110°12.3' East longitude, to the new location at 17°14.1' North latitude and 109°31' East longitude in the East Vietnam Sea. It is unknown how long the second rig, which is owned by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), will be placed in the East Vietnam Sea, according to ifeng.com, the news website of Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television. As shown on the map, Nan Hai Jiu Hao is to be located in the area off the mouth of the Gulf of Tonkin. Vietnam and China are negotiating to fix a line to delineate the maritime boundary between the two countries in this gulf.   

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