Vietnam warned China on Tuesday that it would take all necessary measures to defend its interests in the South China Sea if Beijing does not remove a large oil rig from waters claimed by both countries. China’s stationing of the oil rig over the weekend comes amid a gradual campaign of asserting its sovereignty in the South China Sea. A Vietnamese government statement said Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh called Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and told him the deployment of the $1 billion deep sea rig, which he said was accompanied by military vessels, was illegal and a violation of Vietnamese sovereignty.
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