I overlooked posting this National Interest article 'Did China Blink in the South China Sea' published on the 27th July 2014:http://nationalinterest.org/feature/...hina-sea-10956

It starts with:
For seventy-five days starting from May 2, China unilaterally deployed its US$1 billion oil rig HYSY-981 to drill in waters lying within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The platform was originally scheduled to stay until August 15, but on July 15, China announced that the rig had completed its work and would be relocated to Hainan Island. The removal of the drilling rig is as unilateral and unexpected as its deployment. When the platform was parked in the contested area, it sparked the worst crisis since 1988 in Sino-Vietnamese relations.
The author offers three plausible explanations why China blinked. He ends with:
The outcome of this crisis suggests that China is not much different from other actors—it also has its own fear of escalation.