In a bid to intensify exploration efforts for oil and gas in the area, China has sent four more oil rigs in disputed territories in the South China Sea, Reuters reported.

The announcement comes less than two months after China had first deployed a US$1 billion oil rig in the Paracel Islands, an act fiercely opposed by Vietnam since it claimed that the rig is within its 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

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According to China's Maritime Safety Administration, the Nanhai number two and five rigs were deployed somewhere between its southern Guangdong province and the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands. The Nanhai 4 oil rig is positioned near the Chinese coast, while the Nanhai 9 is just outside Vietnam's exclusive economic zone.

Although Taiwan Land Administration Department director Wang Ching Hsui said the Pratas Islands are well within its exclusive economic zone, he declined to comment on the deployment of the rigs.

The oil rigs - three deepwater platforms and one jack up rig for shallow waters - are reportedly operated by China Oilfield Services Ltd. (COSL) under balloon state-run group China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC).

Representatives from both companies declined to comment on the matter.

The oil rigs are suspected to be part of CNOOC's project scheduled for the third quarter this year in the eastern and western South Seas, according to Reuters.

Analysts speculate that the oil company's projected annual capital spending increase of almost $20 billion coupled with the recent decline of oil reserves at China's major offshore fields in Bohai Bay may be linked to the deployment of the oil rigs in the South Sea.

"It does not surprise us that more rigs are being deployed into the South China Sea - especially over the summer, which is a high-drilling activity period," said Scott Darling, head of JPMorgan-Hong Kong Asia Oil and Gas Research.

Meanwhile, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying was quick to comment on the issue with regard to opposing territorial claims from other nations and said that the rigs were in waters close to Hainan island and Guangdong.

"For these normal activities, there is no need for over-reading or to make any particular links," Said Huan. "Please don't worry, there won't be any problem."

The U.S. has decided to withhold judgment on whether China has violated regulations with regard to disputed territories until the location of the oil rigs has been confirmed.

"If a rig were placed in disputed waters, that would be a concern. We certainly have a national interest in the maintenance of peace and stability in the region," said U.S. state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

TagsOil rig, disputed islands, disputed territories, maritime dispute, Vietnam, Taiwan, south sea, Maritime Safety Administration, Guangdong coast, Pratas, paracel, spratly, Land Administration, Wang Ching Hsui, China Oilfield Services, COSL, China National Offshore Oil Company, CNOOC, Bohai, Scott Darling, Asia Oil and Gas, Oil, gas, Foreign Ministry, Hainan, Jen Psaki, World News