A Chinese vessel near the oil rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images China told the United Nations that Vietnam is the aggressor in the countries’ monthlong standoff over a Chinese oil rig in disputed waters, defending Beijing’s conduct and postitioning itself as the victim in the conflict. Despite Beijing’s shunning of international forums when it comes to dispute resolution, Chinese officials on Monday sent U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon what it called a position paper detailing Vietnam’s “illegal disruption” of the “routine” activities of an offshore drilling platform that China deployed near the Paracel Islands in May. China maintained its resistance to seeking a multilateral resolution in the dispute, but the approach suggested that Beijing is growing uneasy about the damage its reputation has suffered from the spat with Vietnam and from a similar dispute with the Philippines, both of which have characterized China […]