(VOVworld) – China’s deployment of an oil rig in Vietnam’s waters is being viewed as an escalation of regional tensions by major world new agencies like AP, AFP, Reuters, Deutsch Welles, the Washington Post, and DPA.

China deploys an oil rig in Vietnam's waters. (Photo: anninhthudo.vn)

The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal called the deployment one of China’s most provocative acts in years, one which could lead to a larger conflict.    

Indian reporter Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury said in the Economic Times that China is trying to increase pressure by placing the oil rig in Vietnam’s waters and that China’s dubious territorial claims, which have drawn widespread international criticism, are a major obstacle to dispute settlement efforts in the region. These Chinese claims clearly lack any international legal basis and are tantamount to flouting international laws, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).