CHINA-EXPLORATION IN SOUTH CHINA SEA
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'Global Times', a subsidiary published by the Communist Party's official People's Daily, reported on June 20 that Beijing has sent four oil rigs into the South China Sea, suggesting that China is stepping up exploration for oil and gas in the region and less than two months after it positioned a giant drilling platform in waters claimed by Vietnam. Coordinates posted on the website of China's Maritime Safety Administration showed that the Nanhai No: 2 and No: 5 rigs had been deployed roughly between southern China and the Pratas islands, which are occupied by Taiwan. The Nanhai No:4 rig was towed close to the Chinese coast.
The coordinates for the fourth rig, Nanhai No: 9, indicate it is to be positioned just outside Vietnam's exclusive economic zone by June 27.
The paper quoted Zhuang Guotu, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Xiamen University, as calling the rig deployment a "strategic move". He said: "The increase in oil rigs will inevitably jab a sensitive nerve for Vietnam and the Philippines".
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