China calls on Vietnam to withdraw ships from South China Sea

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on demanded on Thursday that Vietnam withdraw its ships from a part of the disputed South China Sea, saying that Vietnamese ships intentionally collided with Chinese vessels in the area.

Yi Xianliang, deputy director-general of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs, also said at a briefing that Vietnam had sent armed vessels to the area, but China only had civilian ships there.