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Activities of the Claimants

China

CNOOC reports first deepwater gas discovery in South China Sea

China's largest producer of offshore oil and gas CNOOC said September 15th that CNOOC 981, the country's first deepwater drilling rig, has made its first deepwater gasfield discovery in the South China Sea. The Lingshui 17-2 gasfield, some 150 kilometers south of Hainan Island, is in the east Lingshui Sag of the Qiongdongnan Basin, the company said in a statement. It is an ultradeepwater gasfield at an average operational water depth of 1,500 meters. Xie Yuhong, a manager with CNOOC, said the well would produce 56.5 million cubic feet of gas per day, equivalent to about 9,400 barrels of liquid oil per day, the highest daily flow of all CNOOC's gas wells during testing.

China to oppose India-Vietnam oil deal within disputed South China Sea

China September 16th made it clear that it will "not support" the India-Vietnam agreement to enable ONGC to explore two more oil wells if they fall within the waters of the disputed South China Sea. Asked for his reaction to the agreement signed during President Pranab Mukherjee's current visit to Vietnam, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China has no objection to any "legitimate and lawful" agreement between Vietnam and a third country. "We have noted President's (Mukherjee) visit to Vietnam. I would like to point out that China has indisputable sovereignty over Nansha (Spratly) islands and adjacent waters," he said. "We hold no objection to legitimate and lawful agreement between Vietnam and a third country. But one thing is to be clear. If such agreement concerns waters administered by China or if such cooperation project is not approved by the Chinese government, then we will be concerned about such an agreement and we will not support it," he said.

China sends surveillance ship to monitor US naval drill off Guam

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China sent a surveillance ship to waters off Guam to monitor a US naval drill, the exercise's operational chief said on September 20th. Over the past week, the Chinese Dongdiao-class auxiliary general intelligence - or AGI - ship has been in waters near the site of Exercise Valiant Shield, a biannual training exercise that began on September 15th and ends on September 16th, said Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery. He said interaction between the Chinese and US ships had been professional. "We respect the right of a nation like that, [or] any nation, to safely and responsibly operate their ships," he said. China has sent its AGI ships to conduct surveillance of foreign naval vessels near its waters. But sending a ship to waters as far off as Guam is a rare move.

The Philippines

“China unlikely to attack PH”

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III believes that if China decides to pursue its so-called historical claims in South China Sea, the Asian superpower would not opt to attack the Philippine islands. At a forum organized by Institut Francais des Relations Internationales held September 18th, Aquino said no amount of spin would justify an attack. "If their prosperity is essential linked to their access to the world, doing the worst possible scenarios will not redound to them being able to have as we have access with the rest of the world or to the very least it will prove to be, shall we say, a hindrance to the regaining access to trade which they so need like we do," he said. He said dramatic changes in the quality of life for the Chinese citizenry are fueled primarily by their country's engagements with the outside world. He recalled that during his state visit to China in 2011, he and then President Hu Jintao agreed that the disputes in the waters are not the sum total of their engagements.

India

Exploration activities in South China Sea purely commercial

In a strong message to China on a day Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in India, President Pranab Mukherjee made it clear that India's oil exploration activities in South China Sea since 1988 are only commercial actions, and no "political angularity" should be drawn into it. He also stressed that India's foreign policy never looked at any country "through the prism" of any third country, in a bid to drive home the point that there's absolutely no relation to his visit to Vietnam before the Chinese President's trip to India.

India have diplomatic bandwidth to accommodate both US, China

Days after hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he does not see rising China as a threat to India, considering it instead a potential partner in development. When asked about the rise of China, its claims over islands and waters in the East China Sea and the South China Sea that have angered some of its smaller neighbours including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, and whether India, which has a border dispute with China was worried about it, Modi replied that India, with a population of 1.25 billion, was “different”. “We can’t run our country if we get worried about every small thing. At the same time, we can’t close our eyes to problems. We are not living in the 18th century. This is an era of partnership. Everyone will have to seek and extend help mutually,” Modi said. China, he added, was “focused on economic development. It’s hardly the sign of a country that wants to be isolated. We should have trust in China’s understanding and have faith that it would accept global laws and will play its role in cooperating and moving forward.”

The U.S.

White House rejects Chinese demand to end U.S. spy flights

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U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice was pressed by Chinese leaders to end all U.S. surveillance flights near China, and the White House said on September 15th that the flights will continue. “We have made clear that our flights are totally lawful under international law and we made clear we have no plans to alter them due to Chinese pressure,” an administration official told the Washington Free Beacon. Rice was pressed to end U.S. maritime surveillance flights by Chinese leaders, including Gen. Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Communist Party Central Military Commission, in Beijing September 9th following a dangerous encounter between a Chinese Su-27 jet and a U.S. Navy P-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft in the South China Sea.

Regional Snapshots

Vietnam, India agree to bolster strategic partnership

Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee agreed to intensify the Vietnamese-Indian strategic partnership with a focus on politics, defence, security, economics, science-technology, oil and gas, culture, people-to-people exchanges, and regional and multilateral cooperation. During their talks in Hanoi on September 15th, President Sang said the visit was of paramount importance for the thriving friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries. Regarding South China Sea issue, the two leaders agreed on the importance of security, safety and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. They called upon all parties to resolve disputes peacefully in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, implement the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and work towards the adoption of a Code of Conduct in these waters.

Territorial row can hit ASEAN-China trade cooperation

Southeast Asian nations on September 16th stressed the importance of the China-ASEAN relationship as the engine of global economic growth, warning that territorial disputes could threaten cooperation. Several leaders attended the opening of the annual China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, pledging to increase two-way trade to US$500 billion (BND$630 billion) by 2015, and to US$1 trillion by 2020. However, they warned that plans for an Asia-Pacific free trade area could be derailed by ongoing spats between China and several ASEAN countries, which all lay partial claims to resource-rich territory in the South China Sea. “I hope we can keep the momentum on regional integration up, even as we manage frictions that arise from time to time,” said Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a keynote address. “We should keep difficult issues in perspective and not let disputes overshadow the positives of ASEAN-China cooperation.” These sentiments were echoed by Vietnamese Foreign Minister, Pham Bình Minh, who said disputes should be resolved with respect to international law. Also speaking at the trade show, Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli said China is committed to promoting peace and stability in the South China Sea. “China is willing, together with ASEAN countries, to effectively promote a code of conduct for the South China Sea, strengthen dialogue and communication, enhance cooperation, eliminate problems and build the South China Sea into a sea of peace and friendship,” he said.

German Chancellor Merkel backs PH stance on China row

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel on September 19th urged China to settle its territorial disputes with the Philippines and other countries through mechanisms provided for under international law. Asked what role Germany could play to resolve the territorial quarrel, Merkel said her country “is well-advised to point to the fact that we have international bodies to settle such matters.” “A peaceful and diplomatic approach is always the one that is called for,” she said, adding: “That is the road that we would opt for.” In his statement, Mr. Aquino said he and Merkel “share the conviction” that disputes “must be settled peacefully and should be based on international law.” Earlier, Philippine President had gained support from EU, Spain and France for the South China Sea issue.

East Sea (South China Sea) Studies