Beijing, Wed Aug 01 - China should give a “strong response” to India and Vietnam if they continue their joint oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea, the state media said on Tuesday as it alleged that New Delhi was trying to pin down the country by complicating maritime disputes in the region.

Reacting sharply to the ONGC’s reported decision to accept Vietnam’s proposal to continue with oil and gas exploration in blocks claimed by Hanoi in South China Sea, reversing earlier move to pull out, an article in the state-run Global Times, titled ‘India’s sea oil push politically motivated’, said the move marked a complete about-turn in India’s policy on the issue.