The US-based Chinese Duowei News reported on January 7, 2015, that China's Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig, owned by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, is on its way from Sanya in southeast China's Hainan province to Singapore, where it will begin exploration in the Indian Ocean.
(Comment: Last May, the rig sparked a standoff between Chinese and Vietnamese boats after it was deployed to waters near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, leading to violent ship-ramming from both sides and deadly anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam. The rig was withdrawn in July.
Beijing has not backed off its aggressive stance in the South China Sea since the Haiyang Shiyou 981 standoff, with multiple reports noting that it has been carrying out extensive reclamation activities on several reefs in Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam, among other claimants. Six of the reefs — Johnson South, Gaven, Cuarteron, Fiery Cross, Hughes and Eldad — have reportedly been transformed into islets. The area of Fiery Cross Reef, in particular, is said to have been increased 11-fold from 0.08 square kilometers to 0.96 square kilometers, making it even bigger than the Taiwan-controlled Taiping, the largest of the Spratlys by land area.)
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