Malaysia, Vietnam and China have been locked in secretive months-long naval standoff over energy resources
BY RICHARD JAVAD HEYDARIAN MARCH 8, 2020 ASIATIMES
HANOI – A new three-way dispute has broken into the open in the South China Sea, one that brings two Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) members into conflict along with China over coveted energy resources.
Malaysia, Vietnam and China have for weeks been locked in a quiet naval standoff in a disputed southwestern area of the sea, marking a new source of acrimony in ASEAN and Beijing’s latest bid to block Southeast Asian claimants from tapping the maritime area’s rich bounty of oil and gas.
