Post by Josh A. Kortze on Jan 5, 2010 16:20:26 GMT -5
New York- Yesterday, United Nations negotiations between China and the Philippines took a turn for the worst, with the Philippine delegate accusing China of “imperialism,” before walking out of the assembly. Specifically, China and the Philippines have been debating the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) in the South China Sea, and for years, China has been claiming almost the entire area hers. These types of disputes have been regarded as Asia's most potentially dangerous points of conflict, since the region is incredibly valuable. The South China Sea is an incredibly important shipping route, with over 1.6 million m³ (10 million barrels) of crude oil a day being shipped through the Strait of Malacca. The Sea also possesses a vast amount of oil and natural gas. China claims almost the entire body as her own, and this claim overlaps with virtually every other country in the region. The EEZ is meant to stretch from the edge of the state's territorial sea out to 200 nautical miles from its coast. The Philippine delegate, Prospero Enrile, stated after abruptly walking out of the UN assembly that “China is looking to create a monopoly over the resources in the area. She ignores international law in order to steal the oil and natural gas from the people it belongs to. It’s as simple as that.”