International Crisis Group
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Stirring up the South China Sea (IV): Oil in Troubled Waters
The South China Sea’s hydrocarbon resources are hotly contested though its reserves are unproven. While their potential economic benefit may be considerable, their foremost significance is political, as their division has implications for sovereignty and fundamental law of the sea principles. Exploration frictions have deepened geopolitical fault lines.
FULL REPORT (Via Crisis Group)
Photo: AFP/Hoang Dinh
SOURCE: Crisis Group
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Coastal Province’s Fishing Rules Alarm U.S. | Bree Feng
New fishing regulations issued by a Chinese province along the South China Sea have once again focused international attention on a complex territorial dispute and raised the question of what kind of power China will become.
In a move that a spokeswoman for the State Department, Jen Psaki, on Thursday called a “provocative and potentially dangerous act,” the southern Chinese province of Hainan issued the new regulations, effective Jan. 1, that require foreign fishing vessels to obtain permission from the Chinese government before plying sea waters that China claims.
FULL ARTICLE (New York Times)
Photo: llee_wu/flickr