In an article prepared for the The Straits Times, Michael Richardson (an energy and security specialist at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies) writes that two of the world's largest oil companies appear willing to risk their substantial investments in China, potentially the world's largest energy market, in order to pursue exploration ventures with Vietnam in waters also claimed by China:"Two of the world's largest oil companies, ExxonMobil of the United States and Britain's BP, appear ready to ignore a challenge by China. Beijing has confirmed that it has told Exxon to cancel planned oil exploration ventures off the coast of Vietnam with the state oil group, PetroVietnam. Evidently following a similar warning from Beijing, BP last year halted plans to carry out exploration work off southern Vietnam, citing territorial tensions."
China, with falling domestic production, may back off - long enough until the first of its own deepwater rigs are completed in 2011.