An increasingly assertive foreign policy over maritime rights claims is bringing China into conflict with its neighbours. In March of this year, Spain's Repsol was forced to suspend drilling in the Red Emperor block, a $200m oil and gas development off Vietnam's southeast coast, after state-owned PetroVietnam—under Chinese pressure—requested a halt to activities. That prompted Repsol to lodge a compensation claim for the suspension of drilling on a field where it has been active since 2009, and which contains 45m barrels of crude oil and 172bn cubic feet of natural gas.
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