Cnooc Deploys Oil Rig as Weapon to Assert China Sea Claims

[phantom power]

China’s first deep-water drilling rig began operations near islands in the South China Sea in a move to assert Beijing’s territorial claims as travel agencies suspended tours to the Philippines amid safety concerns...

“Large deep-water drilling rigs are our mobile national territory and strategic weapon for promoting the development of the country’s offshore oil industry,” said Wang Yilin, Cnooc’s chairman, according to Xinhua. The rig would help China secure energy resources in the waters, it cited him as saying.

Competition for energy reserves in the sea has increased tensions as countries shun joint development and improve their respective naval capabilities. Chinese vessels have confronted Vietnamese survey ships over the past year and have been locked in a monthlong standoff with Philippine boats over a disputed island in another area of the sea.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-09/cnooc-deploys-oil-rig-as-weapon-to-assert-south-china-sea-claims.html

[pscot]

1. Subtle

We would have sent a carrier group. In fact, we probably will.