Mr. Biden’s “Weapon” to Punish China for the South China Sea | World



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In the final days of Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House, the Washington administration announced sanctions against China Marine Petroleum Corporation (CNOOC) for helping the Chinese regime threaten neighbors in the South China Sea. CNOOC is the owner of the 981 Hai Duong oil rig that was mobilized to violate Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea.

Does the Trump administration choose the wrong target?

Comment on the previous move when answering the interview Youth, Mr. Gregory B. Poling (Director of the AMTI Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies – CSIS, USA) said: “CNOOC is the most prominent company that is not in the group sanctioned in August 2020 (related with the East Sea – NV), so the fact that Washington is now punishing this company is not surprising. ”

China’s deepwater gas production plant is ready to go

On January 18, CGTN radio reported that CNOOC’s deepwater gasworks, with a semi-submersible design (photo), was ready to go to a deepwater gas field in the East Sea. The plant will be moved to the Lingshui 17-2 oil lot located 1,500 meters deep and 150 kilometers south of the city of Tam A, Hainan province. This is the first deepwater gas plant made by China, with a main body weighing 110,000 tons, the floor as wide as 2 international standard soccer fields, which can hold up to 21,000 m3 of oil …

Although the above sanctions are intended to send the message of Washington’s commitment to Southeast Asia, Poling also assessed: “The CNOOC sanctions are primarily symbolic, not the measures. financial punishment. And one thing worth worrying about is that, like the August 2020 sanctions list, Washington appears to be picking the wrong person to punish. For example, CNOOC’s actions towards the South China Sea have been going on since 2014, as well as some companies dredged to allow China to build infrastructure on artificial islands in the South China Sea, the behavior also took place from year 2013 – 2015 ”.

According to Poling, the sanctions will be more effective if they target illegal fishing and prospecting activities, as well as marine militias and other objects in China that are violating the South China Sea.

Land for Mr. Biden

Currently, with respect to the South China Sea, the United States Congress has a bill “Sanctions related to the East Sea and the East China Sea” code S.1634 sponsored by Senator Marco Rubio in the Senate, and HR3508 is protected. supported by Senator Mike Gallagher in the House of Representatives.

The previous bill outlines specific penalty options. Accordingly, after 60 days of the enactment of the bill, the United States government will list the Chinese people who have contributed to the construction of artificial islands, base stations of mobile communication networks. , electricity and fuel facilities and civil infrastructure in the South China Sea are in dispute.

The list will include Chinese people directly and indirectly involved in actions that threaten the peace and stability of the South China Sea in areas controlled by an ASEAN member.

After having the above list of offenders, the United States government will apply sanctions against these subjects. Notable measures: Prevent or prohibit property transactions directly owned by the object or assets that bring benefits to the subjects in the United States; Do not issue a visa to the USA, if you have a visa, you can cancel it. Violators can also be subject to a variety of other financial penalties.

These are stronger sanctions with many sanctions, not just restricting trade like the sanctions the Trump administration is carrying out. Thus, this is the political space that President-elect Joe Biden can use to punish China in relation to the South China Sea issue.




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