HANOI, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Vietnam is "deeply concerned"
about recent developments in the South China Sea, the Southeast
Asian country's prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, said on
Friday.
Vietnamese and Chinese vessels have since early July been
locked in a tense standoff in Vietnamese-controlled waters in
the South China Sea, where a Chinese vessel appeared to have
been conducting a seismic survey.
The United States also said on Thursday it was deeply
concerned about China's interference in oil and gas activities
in waters claimed by Vietnam, and that the deployment of the
vessels was "an escalation by Beijing in its efforts to
intimidate other claimants out of developing resources in the
South China Sea."
Phuc was speaking at a press conference alongside his
Australian counterpart Scott Morrison, who is in Hanoi for a
three-day visit.