Amid its row with Vietnam over the disputed islands in the South China Sea, China’s military recently staged a drill in waters close to Vietnam simulating a scenario in which an oil rig was surrounded by foreign fishing boats. The drill performed by China’s People’s Liberation Army took place in the waters near Beibu Gulf, which is known as the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam, a report by PLA Daily website said. It involved dozens of vessels from 10 military and civilian units, as well as several aircraft from the South Sea Fleet’s naval aviation unit, it said. The drill was held some time this summer. The report did not give an exact date, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Sunday. The report said that the PLA flotilla formed a few hours after receiving an order from a maritime command centre. It was reacting to the entry of ‘an armed suspicious fishing vessel’ into waters claimed by China.