Vietnam has raised concerns after China allegedly moved an oil rig into disputed waters in the South China Sea. Vietnam has called on China to withdraw as it could result in a recurrence of the 2014 standoff between the two nations.

According to Vietnam's foreign ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh, China moved its Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig to an area outside of Tonkin, an area where the two countries' continental shelves overlap and have not been demarcated, on Jan. 16. Binh said that China should immediately stop the movement; else it could lead to another standoff.

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Speaking on behalf of Vietnam, he demanded that China stops any drilling activities and removes the Hai Duong 981 oil rig from the area. Binh added that all the legal rights and interests of the area is laid out by international law.

In 2014, the same oil rig was moved into the disputed waters by a unit of China National Offshore Oil Corp. causing tension between the two nations. The incident sparked anti-China protests in Vietnam that left five people dead. More so, hundreds of Chinese and foreign-owned factories were looted and burned during the protests.

In a separate event, Vietnam also accused China of violating international law by landing a plane on a newly built airstrip on the disputed Spratly Islands. However, China denied the violation citing that flights were within China's sovereign territory and were exempted from international civil aviation procedures. China's foreign ministry described the accusations as "unfounded."

TagsVietnam, territorial disputes