(VOVworld) – Dr. Tomotaka Shoji, head of the Asian and African Studies Department of the Japanese National Institute for Defense Studies, said China’s illegal deployment of oil-rig Hai Yang 981 within Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf is part of a campaign China has been conducting for years to extend its influence and control in the East Sea.

Dr. Tomotaka Shoji: "China will lose because of this and the most severe loss will be its relationship with Vietnam and ASEAN".

In an interview with a Vietnamese correspondent in Japan, Dr. Shoji said China will lose because of this and the most severe loss will be its relationship with Vietnam and ASEAN. Professor Kim Tae-wan, Dean of the Politics Faculty of Dong-Eui University, South Korea, said China’s illegal action has caused more losses than gains. He said the longer China keeps its illegal oil-rig within Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf, the more pressure will be put on China by other nations.