Looks like both China and Vietnam are offering up the same or similar blocks for exploration / developement. At least this might divert Chinese focus away from the Philippines.
"The Foreign Ministry has protested a Chinese state-owned oil company’s move to offer for exploration nine blocks in a disputed area of the South China Sea. Vietnamese officials say the area is inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and is not part of China. The Chinese government has laid claim to much of the South China Sea, areas of which are believed to be rich in oil, gas and fish. The blocks were put up for bids from foreign companies last week by China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or Cnooc. Some of the blocks overlap with ones that PetroVietnam, a state-owned enterprise, has already delineated as areas under contract for exploration by foreign companies. An executive at PetroVietnam has said it will proceed with the contracts. China said this week that Cnooc had the right to offer the blocks."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/wo...-disputed.html
