Beijing urges Hanoi to 'stop all disruptions'

China says oil rig operations beset by obstacles, 'underwater agents'

Using frogmen, fishing nets, floating objects and hundreds of boat rammings, Vietnam escalated its harassment of China over Beijing's legal oil drilling in the South China Sea, an unusually long statement from the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

Beijing stressed the importance of its relationship and communication with Hanoi in the statement, but experts warned that Hanoi will continue such provocations to cater to the country's swelling nationalism and seek sympathy from the international community.