China drills deep in disputed South China Sea

Chinese scientists on a marine research vessel used China's home-made "Sea Bull II" drilling system to obtain a sediment core 231 metres (253 yards)long at a depth of 2,060 metres (6,760 feet), the official Xinhua news agency said.

China has drilled deep in the South China Sea to retrieve sediment core from the seabed, state media reported on Thursday, amid tensions over disputed waters with rival claimants Taiwan and the Philippines, as well as with the United States.

Chinese scientists on a marine research vessel used China's home-made "Sea Bull II" drilling system to obtain a sediment core 231 metres (253 yards)long at a depth of 2,060 metres (6,760 feet), the official Xinhua news agency said.