Vietnam to continue oil search in disputed waters
Updated
Vietnam has signalled it wants to continue with a joint oil exploration project with ExxonMobil in disputed waters.
This is despite a warning from China to the US energy giant to drop the deal.
Vietnam - without mentioning the specific contract - reasserted its claim over parts of the South China Sea that are the subject of a dispute with China.
Foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung says all Vietnamese cooperation with foreign partners in the field of petroleum is in Vietnamese territorial waters and in its economic zone.
Hong Kong's Sunday Morning Post newspaper, citing sources close to ExxonMobil, reported this week that China had warned it to drop the deal, and the project could threaten future mainland contracts.
