The Oil Drum: A Glimpse of our Geopolitical Future — The China Seas

Geopolitical conflicts have obvious effects on the world’s supply of oil & natural gas. Mostly, such conflicts are discussed in the context of the Middle East, Russia as a supplier or West Africa. However, there is an underpublicized set of conflicts in the maritime areas of East Asia over who owns the development rights to disputed oil & natural gas rights in those offshore areas. The hottest of these conflicts is between China and Japan over drilling rights in the East China Sea (Asian Times) and among various nations adjacent to the South China Sea. And there are other disputes as well. Whether these rights of ownership are resolved amicably or through intimidation and military conflict will affect how various nations fare in obtaining their fossil fuels supplies in the future and hence their security. Let’s take a closer look at geopolitical disputes in East Asia’s ocean regions.
much more after the jump to The Oil Drum.