Chinese FM: Xisha islands are an inherent part of China

A Chinese oil rig has finished its second round of drilling in the South China Sea. It has found signs of oil and gas about two months after its deployment.

The China National Petroleum Corporation released a statement saying that they will assess the data collected and decide the next step. The second round of drilling started on May 28th and finished up yesterday.

The oil rig, Haiyang Shiyou 981 will move to another project in southeast of the Hainan province.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei reiterated that the Xishan islands is an inherent territory of China, and oil rig drilling is a domestic issue. He also said that China opposes any unreasonable disruption from Vietnam regarding the drilling of the Chinese enterprises.