Monday, December 16, 2019

Luconia Shoals saga continues: Malaysia discovers that China is not interested in its diplomacy , orders UN "not to consider Malaysian claim in South China Sea"

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Chinese warplanes take South China Sea exercises to new level :Latest drill transforms PLA’s approach in the disputed waterway from ‘passive’ to ‘proactive’ in marked contrast to previous war games .:SCMP






As reported on this blog last September:

China is particularly interested in asserting sovereignty over Luconia Shoals ,Chinese Coast Guard in strategy to bully Malaysia into submitting to at least de facto control




It is believed that Malaysian authorities are wary about antagonising China in any way regardless of the rights and wrongs, and hence remain conflicted as to whether the Malaysian flag should be replanted on Luconia Shoals, preferring instead to rely on the country's skills in diplomacy. 


However a  recent attempt at asserting sovereignty at the United Nations has been met with the usual contempt from the Chinese delegation.As reported by the South China Morning Post:

Beijing has accused Malaysia of infringing on its sovereignty after its Southeast Asian neighbour filed an extended shelf claim in the


disputed South China Sea
.
China’s permanent mission to the United Nations also urged the UN’s Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) not to consider Malaysia’s submission seeking to establish the outer limits of its legal continental margin beyond the 200 nautical mile limit.
“China has internal waters, territorial sea and a contiguous zone based on its Nanhai Zhudao [the South China Sea islands]; China has an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. China has historic rights in the South China Sea,” the Chinese mission said in a diplomatic note to United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres last week.
It said the submission by Malaysia, which was made on Thursday, had “seriously infringed on China’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the South China Sea”.
“The Chinese government seriously requests that the commission not consider the submission by Malaysia,” the diplomatic note said.
The Chinese foreign ministry on Monday said Beijing had also lodged representations with Malaysia, saying it had infringed on China’s sovereignty and violated “international relations norms”.

END 

See Also

China's Luconia Shoals adventures may add to Petronas production sharing contractors' costs -the Malaysian taxpayer bears the cost

by Ganesh Sahathevan


Scs1 1309off
Malaysia has much to lose by giving in to China.Apart from access 
to the basins that clearly lie within Malaysia's Exclusive Economic 
Zone,there is a system of oil and gas production and collection 
which has been built up over more than 40 years.


It has been previously reported on this blog that  China is particularly interested in asserting sovereignty over Luconia Shoals and that the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) seems to have launched a campaign to bully Malaysia into submitting to at least de facto control of the Shoals and the South China Sea.


Meanwhile, the CCG's habit of having its boats harass if not at least shadow oil and gas company vessels is likely to add to the .costs they incur in their work as production sharing contractors for Petronas. Petronas gets a share of profit oil from the contractors, after they deduct their costs of exploration and production. Malaysia 's membership of ASEAN, and its participation in the ZOPFAN Declaration  has ensured a relatively trouble free South China Sea,,bar the problem of piracy.

Consequently PSC contractors have not had to incur the costs of protecting themselves against the risks of territorial conflict which can include. among other things, the costs of changes in regulatory regimes and the costs of guarding against aggression by the disputing parties.

Oil and gas exploration and even production is a highly speculative business and anything that adds to the risk profile can easily make even existing projects uncommercial.  As a result, Petronas may see a reduced quantum of profit oil, and future revenue may be adversely impacted.
The party ultimately bearing the costs is the Malaysian taxpayer, who will have to bear the burden of making up for a lower Petronas dividend.

The Malaysian Government must know all this, so why it would simply stand aside and allow China to do as it pleases is unfathomable.
END

SEE ALSO 


Sea-level lowstand of >120 m below present during the last glacial maximum (LGM) resulted in subaerial exposure of the majority of the Sunda Shelf and a dramatic increase in the land area of Southeast Asia. Modified from Sathiamurthy & Voris (2006). 

Sea-level lowstand of >120 m below present during the last glacial maximum (LGM) resulted in subaerial exposure of the majority of the Sunda Shelf and a dramatic increase in the land area of Southeast Asia. Modified from Sathiamurthy & Voris (2006). 

Source publication
Article
Full-text available
In order to predict the manner in which global sea-level change will impact the wide variety of coastal conditions and communities in Malaysia, this study sought to gain insight into the vertical components that determine the relationship between the coastal land areas of Malaysia and changes in sea level over time periods of millions to hundreds o...

Context in source publication

Context 1
... the LGM, with sea level >120 m below present, the Sunda Shelf was emergent (e.g. Hanebuth & Statteggar, 2004) ( Figure 5) with a defined drainage pattern, much of which represented down-stream extensions and confluences of present drainage systems (Molengraaff, 1921). It is presumed that drainage patterns during previous sea-level lowstands were similar and, with each succeeding sea-level cycle, river valleys backfilled and incised in response to changes in base level. ...

Citations

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