From his Vietnamese Coast Guard boat at night, Lieutenant Phan Chi Cuong can see the yellow lights of an oil rig 10 nautical miles away. Owned by a Chinese company, it sits in waters near islands claimed by both nations in the South China Sea.
Dozens of ships clutter the area, playing a daily game of cat and mouse in rough seas as China shields the rig with its vessels. At stake is the resource-rich waters around the contested Paracel Islands, in a dispute that has
