There are now two nations that have elevated to the Permanent Council of Arbitration (PCA) China's claim that it owns some islands on the South China Sea. Vietnam submitted on Thursday to the arbitral tribunal in The Hague a submission, while it also thumbed down China's position paper.

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In turn, China rejected Hanoi's challenge as it has previously done with Manila's which also claim the Paracel and Spratly Islands.

Le Hai Binh, spokesman of Vietnam's foreign ministry said, quoted by The Diplomat, "Vietnam's established position is to resolutely object to China's claim over Hoang Sa, Truong Sa islands and adjacent waters." He used Vietnam's name for the two disputed islands.

To establish its claim on the islands, China deployed an oil rig, HYSY-981, in May off the coast of Vietnam. The islands are known for its oil and gas reserves as well as marine resources, which explains why several Asian nations are staking a claim.

These disputing nations tried to repair the damage caused by the deployment of the oil rig during the recent APEC Summit hosted by China, but the move by Vietnam brings the situation back to square one, said an Asian expert.

Singapore-based Ian Storey, senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, told Bloomberg, "Beijing will be irritated that Vietnam has submitted its views to the Arbitral Tribunal, which in China's view has no jurisdiction over this issue."

Beijing, in its December 7 position paper, stressed that it will not take part in the PCA proceedings and insisted that it has "indisputable" sovereignty over the Spratlys.

Under China's nine-dash line definition, it owns about 90 percent of the South China Sea, which Hanoi has rejected as lacking in legal basis.

But Vietnam didn't join the legal challenge earlier raised by the Philippines and instead filed its own submission so as not to totally alienate China which has warned Hanoi not to join Manila's submission.

TagsParacel Islands, Vietnam