China urges peaceful resolution to maritime disputes

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has said that China wishes to promote peaceful development of the oceans, warning conflicts in the past had only brought “disaster for humanity,” Reuters reported, citing a speech by the Premier at a maritime summit in Greece on Friday. Concern over China’s motives has risen in the region after China sent four more oil rigs into the South China Sea, less than two months after it positioned a giant drilling platform in waters claimed by Vietnam around the Paracel Islands.