Vietnam and China's Confrontation Over Oil at Sea is Rigged to Clash

VIETNAM and China share a long history of enmity—and of managing to patch things up when they go wrong. But their latest dispute is not running true to form.

Vietnam was taken aback in early May when China parked an oil rig on its doorstep. The behemoth, which cost $1 billion, lies 17 nautical miles (32 km) from the Paracel islands, which China seized from the American-backed South Vietnamese regime in 1974, and about 150 nautical miles from the Vietnamese coast. Vietnam’s leaders say the rig is inside their 200-mile exclusive economic zone as defined by international law. They wanted to settle the dispute quickly through negotiations. But China is said to have rebuffed requests for a summit and talks between lower-ranking officials went nowhere.

Now, the prospect of a quiet resolution looks increasingly remote.

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