Post by Josh A. Kortze on Jan 12, 2010 12:40:56 GMT -5
Beijing- Chinese oceanographers were able to discover a major oil field directly off of the coast of the Spratly Islands, which are group of more than 650 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea between the Philippines, China, Malaysia and Vietnam. The Chinese government hailed this as a “great achievement,” and noted that now they can afford to be, “a bit more self-reliant in energy production.” Not everyone is thrilled by the discovery; however, as the Philippines are claiming that they should be entitled to utilizing the new supply of oil. Several countries, including China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia claim control over a portion of the islands, and keep a small contingent of military forces stationed there. The Philippines have discovered oil in the Spratly Islands previously. On 11 March 1976, the first major Philippine oil discovery occurred off the coast of Palawan, within the Spratly Islands territory, and these oil fields now account for fifteen percent of all petroleum consumed in the Philippines. The Philippines have a major issue with China because of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which stated that within its territorial waters (out to 12 nautical miles from the baseline), a coastal state is free to set laws, regulate use, and use any resource and that exclusive economic zones will extend 200 nautical miles from the coast. Within an EEZ, the coastal nation has sole exploitation rights over all natural resources. China, the Philippines, and Vietnam are all signatories to the UNCLOS III agreement. The Philippines also argue, under Law of the Sea provisions, that China can not extend its claims to the Spratly Islands because China is not an archipelagic state. It is difficult to tell whether or not this argument would hold up in court, however, the tension between the Philippines and China continues to grow.
