China ends oil exploration in SCS

Beijing: China has ended its oil exploration in contested waters claimed by Vietnam after a two-and-a-half month  drilling operation which resulted in a tense standoff between the two nations in the South China Sea.

The Chinese foreign ministry said that the drilling operation by the HYSY 981 rig off a Xisha island, also known as Paracel Islands, has been completed. The Chinese companies began the drilling operation off Zhongjian Island, one of the Xisha Islands, on May 2.