14.11.11 Menas Borders
Asia-Pacific summits focus on South China Sea borders
Two high-profile summits on the Indonesian island of Bali this week are likely
to focus on the contested border situation in the South China Sea. The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, followed by the East Asia Summit, serve as an annual forum for
regional states to discuss key issues including, unfailingly, competing
maritime
claims in the area.
Attention will focus on ways to reduce tensions in the sea following months of
naval confrontations and heated disputes, mainly between China – which claims
large swathes of the area, including its subsea hydrocarbon reserves – and
smaller
states such as the Philippines and Vietnam.
Although Beijing has officially sought to calm regional tensions and work
towards negotiated solutions with each of its neighbours, it also keeps one eye
on
strong nationalist sentiments at home, which insist that China should take a
firm
line in claiming and defending large areas of the South China Sea. State-run
newspapers often run fiery editorials calling for the use of force, if
necessary, to
defend Chinese interests.
Before the ASEAN summit opened, two stories underlined the ongoing tensions in
the area. In late October ExxonMobil announced that it had struck oil off central Vietnam, prompting a sharp warning
from China that foreign companies should not get involved in disputed seas.
In early November news emerged that China had recently claimed new territory
less than 50 miles away from a province of the Philippines. In July, Manila
invited
foreign companies to bid for a number of new blocks; Beijing sent a formal note
of protest insisting that two of the areas were part of its sovereign territory.
The revelation will give added impetus to the efforts of Philippines President Benigno Aquino to draw up a binding code of conduct for the South China Sea. A previous code of
conduct agreed in 2002 has failed to stop tensions rising over the oil and
gas-rich sea.
Aquino has proposed that the South China Sea should be carved up to allow
littoral states to fully utilise areas which are not disputed, but China has
rejected
the plan.
Sources: BBC, Reuters, AFP