China warns neighbors: Stop oil search in Spratlys

news.yahoo.com...

MANILA, Philippines – China warned Asian neighbors Thursday to stop searching for oil near the Spratly Islands and vowed to assert its sovereignty over the potentially petroleum-rich territory in the South China Sea that several nations claim.

China and the Philippines have swapped diplomatic protests over the islands, with Filipino officials accusing Chinese forces of intruding into Manila-claimed areas six times since February and of firing shots at least once. Beijing denied the allegation Thursday and said it would use violence only when attacked.

Vietnam, meanwhile, has accused China of flaring tensions in Vietnamese waters by hindering the operation of a oil and gas exploration boat for the second time in two weeks.

Atleast from the article, it looks like China is bullying its neighbors.

The Spratlys, which are believed to be atop vast oil and gas reserves, have long been feared as a potential flash point of armed conflict in Asia.

Heres a picture of the islands locations (from wiki)

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b7f85ecdffbc.jpg[/atsimg]

From looking at that picture, it looks to me that China is one of the farthests away from the islands, compared to Vietnam and the Phillippinees.

Originally posted by buni11687
news.yahoo.com...

From looking at that picture, it looks to me that China is one of the farthests away from the islands, compared to Vietnam and the Phillippinees.

Well, they are the new USA, or getting there.

They're just taking a page from our book. Look how far we are from all the places where we assert our dominion over oil. They're counting on us doing nothing here.

Khar

reply to post by buni11687


Sounds a bit like a video game, actually:
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

Ok so I was gonna be "that guy" who gets on the thread and tells you its already been posted and is still in the fire hose if you look, but since yours is better as it includes a map Im not gonna do that instead Im gonna give you S&F

Cheers for the map dude

Originally posted by buni11687
Atleast from the article, it looks like China is bullying its neighbors.

Who ever heard of such a thing?

The US should do the righteous thing and go bully their asses for bullying their own neighbors, huh?

China's claims do look awfully shaky, from the map there not even close to these islands. Unless China has some historical claims to them. I think you'll see these guys forming an alliance to keep China in check.