Vietnam has reported that Chinese ships cut the cables of two exploration ships carrying out seismic surveys.
"But our two current polar exploration ships are nearing the end of their life and need replacing.
Then in two episodes in May and June, Vietnam accused Chinese vessels of severing cables to Vietnamese oil exploration ships.
The vessel will help replace the UK's two current polar exploration ships, which are nearing the end of their lives.
Last spring, in two separate incidents, Vietnam accused Chinese vessels of deliberately cutting the seismic survey cables of an oil exploration ship.
Watson, who had been on the lead exploration ship, the icebreaker CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier, argued that official accounts of the discovery were "distorted and inaccurate".
Vietnamese officials accused Chinese vessels of cutting cables to oil exploration ships in May and June; Chinese officials have denied some of those accusations and have warned Vietnam and other nations that only joint oil exploration is acceptable.
NASA envisions private companies launching refueling ships to top off the tanks of its exploration ships, thus increasing the payloads that can be sent to the moon and Mars.
The dispute over the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits, has festered for years, and neither country has made any concessions despite conflicts involving fishing vessels, maritime surveillance boats and oil exploration ships.
Azerbaijan said today that an Iranian warship had threatened an oil exploration ship off Azerbaijan's shores in the Caspian Sea, in a dispute that highlights rising tensions over the oil-producing inland sea.
