Vietnam Confirms China Ship Left its Waters, Ending Month-Long Standoff

A Chinese coast guard ship (back) sailing next to a Vietnamese coast guard vessel (front), near China's oil drilling rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea, on May 14, 2014. Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images

HANOI—A Chinese survey ship embroiled in a tense month-long standoff with Vietnamese vessels has left Vietnam’s continental shelf, the Southeast Asian nation’s foreign ministry confirmed on Aug. 8.

Late on Wednesday, Reuters reported that the Haiyang Dizhi 8 vessel, operated by the China Geological Survey, had headed away from Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).