Tensions mounted after China rejected a 12 July ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which said that Beijing’s claims over most of the South China Sea have no legal basis. ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) which has two offshore blocks in South China Sea allotted by Vietnam does not perceive any threat to production, an OVL director said on condition of anonymity. Disputes over oil and gas prospecting, thus, have ramifications that extend well beyond division of resources, it said in the report titled Stirring up the South China Sea: Oil in Troubled Waters. Sovereignty over parts of South China Sea is claimed by many countries in the region, to which India is not a party, according to a Rajya Sabha statement by minister of state for external affairs V.K. In the past, China has objected to India’s hydrocarbon exploration projects in the South China Sea, off the coast of Vietnam, asserting its sovereignty over the area covering the two blocks.

Source: Mint July 17, 2016 18:56 UTC