Xi Says China Won't Stir Trouble In South China Sea
Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed not to stir up trouble in the South China Sea but said China would react "in the necessary way" to provocations by other countries, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The comments come at a time of deep tension between China and Vietnam over Beijing's decision in early May to move an oil rig into disputed waters between the Paracel islands and the Vietnamese coast. Days after China deployed the rig, the Philippines accused Beijing of reclaiming land on a disputed reef in the Spratlys to build what would be its first airstrip in the South China Sea. "We will never stir up trouble, but will react in the necessary way to the provocations of countries involvedā¦
USAF Rescue Far From Land Chinese Sailors
Two Chinese sailors died and six are missing after their boat caught fire and sank in the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. Air Force said on Sunday. The boat sank on Friday and the survivors were picked up by a Venezuelan fishing boat. Seven sailors were in good condition, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona said on its website. Two of the Chinese sailors died of burns and two were critically burned, it said. Rescue teams from Davis-Monthan flew on Saturday to the Venezuelan vessel, about 1,100 nautical miles (2,050 km) west of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to provide medical care. Airmen parachuted into the water and used inflatable life rafts to reach the fishing vessel.
COSCO 2013 Net Profit Falls 71%
Chinese shipbuilder COSCO Corp (Singapore) Ltd on Monday reported a 71 percent fall in full-year 2013 net profit, due to lower profit contributions from ship building and marine engineering segments. COSCO Corp, a subsidiary of state-owned maritime industry giant China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co, said its full-year net profit stood at S$30.6 million ($24.14 million), below the Thomson Reuters SmartEstimate of S$43.78 million. The company did not state its fourth-quarter results. In the first nine months of the year, its net profit slumped 68 percent to S$26 million. The shipbuilder said its order book was at $7.8 billion, up from $7.2 billion a quarter earlier. ($1 = 1.2676 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Matt Driskill)
Sembcorp Marine Q4 Net Profit Up 9.2%
(Reuters) Singapore's Sembcorp Marine Ltd, one of the largest offshore drilling rig producers in the world, said its net profit in the fourth quarter rose 9.2 percent as higher operating profit offset lower contributions from associates and joint ventures. Sembcorp Marine, which is the world's second-largest jackup rig producer after crosstown rival Keppel Corporation Ltd , posted a fourth-quarter net profit of S$182.4 million ($143.89 million). Its full-year net profit rose 3.2 percent to S$555.7 million, above a mean forecast of 23 analysts of S$528.50 million. The company's order book fell to S$12.3 billion from the all-time high of S$13.5 billion a quarter earlier.
