PNoy:- China's Actions In South China Sea Should Be Considered A Global Problem

[Arthur Little]

TARLAC CITY - President Benigno Aquino III claims China's actions in the South China Sea ought to be regarded as "A matter of global concern" ... rather than just a regional issue.

Interviewed by the media, the president stressed that Beijing's activities in the disputed territory will affect the flow of trade among neighbouring countries.

What do our Filipino members think?


Source: RSJ/KBK, GMA NEWS

[Harry T]

i think that seeing as there is NO oil involved, the rest of the World will stay outside looking in, and do nothing to upset Communist China, the majority of the World still want investment from China, and in China so they will do nothing to upset them, and leave the Philippines to fight against bullying on its own.

[Terpe]

i think that seeing as there is NO oil involved, the rest of the World will stay outside looking in, and do nothing to upset Communist China, the majority of the World still want investment from China, and in China so they will do nothing to upset them, and leave the Philippines to fight against bullying on its own.

Difficult to give any accurate estimates due to lack of exploration, but as I understand it the Oil and Gas estimates are pretty huge.
Based on proven reserves it's already around 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The South China Sea has enormous potential for oil and gas reserves but territorial conflict will likely hold it back for years to come.

On July 16, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) decided to remove its oil rig from contested waters, stating that its exploration mission was completed after finding “sings of oil and gas.”

While moving the rig out of waters claimed by both China and Vietnam could cool tensions, the intractable dispute over territory is holding back what could be massive investment in oil and gas exploration.

The Wall Street Journal reported on several major international oil companies that are steering clear of the South China Sea because of the conflict, despite the potentially huge reserves of oil and gas in its waters.

Back in 2006, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) signed a deal with Petronas, Malaysia’s state-owned oil company, to conduct exploration in disputed waters east of Vietnam. After China sent a stern warning that doing so would violate China’s sovereignty, Vietnam offered naval protection to Chevron. Despite assurances from Vietnam, in 2007 Chevron closed the door on its operations there, citing the ongoing territorial dispute.

Chevron continues to work in the area, but is staying within Vietnam’s undisputed territory.

Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR), a Houston-based oil and gas company, has secured rights from China to drill in the South China Sea. The only problem is that their block was also separately awarded by Vietnam to another company. The clash was enough to scare away the company – Harvest’s CEO James Edmiston said in June that his company was currently divesting from assets in China.

At the same time, some companies are braving the risk. ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) has already worked with PetroVietnam in the South China Sea, drilling two wells in 2011 and 2012, and a third expected this year.

Canadian company Talisman Energy (TSE: TLM) also expects to drill two exploratory wells in disputed waters this year. The company’s vice president for Asia-Pacific operations, Paul Ferneyhough, thinks the risk is worth the reward. “I would describe these as world-class exploration blocks,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

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