200 oil companies want a share of the South China Sea
- Source: Global Times
- [18:29 August 21 2009]
- Comments
With 36.78 billion tons in oil reserves and 7.5 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves, the oil- rich South China Sea has become the target of countries bordering the area who are joining hands with 200 western oil companies to nibble away at this precious natural resource.
According to the Philippine Commercial News August15, the Philippine government has an agreement with Forum Energy, a UK oil company to explore the oil and gas field near Reed Tablemount in the China South Sea. In response, Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao warned, "This will be treated as an infringement of China's sovereignty and will lead to regional tensions."
Moreover, according to the Chinese newspaper International Herald Leader, this project is only one of 27 initiated by western companies.
Fishing industry pushed aside by oil giants
Cui Siyi, a manager of a fishing company in Hainan, said the sea which was now under exploration was once the fishing area of Chinese fishermen. However, now it has become crowded by oil drilling platforms. He says people who dare to get close will be driven away by foreign military naval ships.
According to International Herald Leader, countries bordering the South China Sea such as Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia have cooperated with about 200 multinational companies like Exxon Mobile and Royal Dutch Shell to build about 1,380 drilling wells. Most of the platforms are built on disputed waters.
More than 1,000 drilling wells produce 50 million tons of oil each year, a number the domestic Da Qing oil field with yearly turnout of 40 million tons cannot match, noted Xue li, deputy director of the international strategy office with the Institute of World Economics and Politics of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
According to Xue, China hasn't explored the China South Sea because its sea exploration technology is not mature enough, neither are the funds or management. Also, China's ocean development strategy needs constant adjustment through practice.
Western companies' military backup
Foreign military ships and helicopters can be seen in the neighboring seas to protect drilling wells; yet oil companies cannot be traced from the unmarked platforms.
Li Jinming, policy director of the Center for Ocean Law and Policy at the Nanyang Research Institute at Xiamen University said the multinationals were exploiting the oil resources with military backup. He said those countries took advantage of the area militarily first and then exploited the oil under military protection, a typical method adopted by sea-bordering countries when infringing on China's sovereignty.
Besides military protection, most of the drilling wells are placed in disputed areas to avoid direct clashes with China, said Li.
Guarding sea sovereignty is not an easy job
China's proposal to explore the sea together instead of focusing on disputes is being ignored by other sea-neighboring countries. They have started cooperation with western companies in spite of China's interest in cooperation. According to Li, those countries that have made much foreign currencies from the oil business buy military weapons to increase their invasion of the China South Sea. By cooperating with western companies, countries like Vietnam and the Philippines have involved themselves with US interests and military power to become a menace to China's diplomacy and military.
