China Parked a $1 Billion Oil Rig in Vietnam's Waters

In May 2014, China towed the Haiyang Shiyou 981 — CNOOC's $1 billion deepwater drilling rig, hailed in Beijing as “mobile national territory” — into waters just 17 nautical miles from Triton Island in the Paracels, about 120 nautical miles off Vietnam's coast, in waters Vietnam claims as its exclusive economic zone. An escort that grew to more than 80 Chinese vessels — coast guard, navy, and fishing militia — formed protective rings around it. Vietnamese patrol and fisheries boats that approached were rammed and blasted with water cannons. On May 26, a Chinese vessel ran down and sank the wooden fishing boat DNa 90152 near the rig — all 10 fishermen were rescued from the water. Anti-China protests erupted across Vietnam. Then, on July 15 — a full month before the announced end date — China quietly pulled the rig out after 75 days. Beijing insisted the withdrawal was “in accordance with the company's plan” and had “nothing to do with any external factor.” The rig cost a billion dollars. The standoff reshaped Vietnam-China relations — and the South China Sea — for a decade. Follow Money Maps for more geopolitics, mapped. #Vietnam #HD981 #SouthChinaSea #China #Paracels #Oil #Geopolitics #MoneyMaps #Shorts