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KUALA LUMPUR (REUTERS) – An oil exploration vessel hired by Malaysian state energy company Petronas, which was involved in a clash with a Chinese prospecting vessel in the South China Sea, left the disputed waters on Tuesday ( May 12), three security sources and said the operator of the ship.
Petronas has been conducting exploration activities near an area claimed by Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as China, since late last year. In mid-April, the Haiyang Dizhi 8, the Chinese government reconnaissance ship, began operating in the area, escorted by the coast guard and ships of the Chinese Maritime Militia.
Three American warships and an Australian frigate conducted a joint exercise near the Petronas operations site amid the fighting last month.
West Capella, the boat hired by Petronas, left the waters when it finished its exploration activities in the area, the sources said. They did not want to be named as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Petronas’ contract for the vessel with offshore drilling company Seadrill was slated to end this month.
The Malaysian Foreign Ministry and Petronas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Seadrill’s director of communications, Mr. Iain Cracknell, confirmed that West Capella has left the area after completing his planned work.
The Chinese government ship, the Haiyang Dizhi 8, was still in the area, about 371 km off the coast of Borneo, according to data from the ship tracking website Marine Traffic.
The data showed that the ship has been moving within Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone in a hash pattern consistent with conducting a survey, as it did during a tense clash in Vietnamese waters last year.
The Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (Amti) has said the clash between China and Malaysia has been going on for months.
China has denied reports of a clash, saying that the Haiyang Dizhi 8 was carrying out normal activities.
The incident prompted the United States to ask China to stop its “intimidating behavior” in the disputed waters.
China claims almost the entire energy-rich South China Sea, also an important trade route each year. The Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Taiwan have overlapping claims.
The United States also accused China of taking advantage of the distraction of the coronavirus pandemic to advance its presence in the South China Sea.
A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry last month accused US officials of defaming Beijing.
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