Posted on 07/21/2008 5:26:02 PM PDT by Kaslin
Energy: Big Oil is easy to kick around — just ask any Democrat in Congress. But China's threats to Exxon Mobil are in another league. Its bid to use Exxon Mobil as a wedge against its rival Vietnam is a case in point.
The region in question is clearly Vietnam's (see map). Exxon Mobil has been doing its homework on this area ever since the U.S. trade embargo was lifted in 1994. But China claims Vietnam's central and southern offshore coastal waters, where the exploration is occurring, is its territory. Though its claim wouldn't hold up in an international court, China seems to believe Vietnam is a wayward stepchild and, thus, China doesn't need to recognize its sovereignty.
Exxon Mobil, as a result, might have to drop the project, leaving Vietnam with no technology to extract its badly needed coastal oil.
BP bailed out on a similar project a year ago after Chinese threats. The result? Less oil on the market and higher prices.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
Ping.
Hopefully Exxon won’t cave.
Ping.
Yet more proof that "peak oil" is far less of a problem that "peak politics."
Right! Because they've got so much support in the US Government.
Oh! Because they've got so much vocal backing from free market conservatives in the US Congress.
Er...because they've got so much good press in the popular media.
Um...because they've got so much educated backing from the majority of Freepers.
Ok...From me and a few other folks and this one chick up in Tulsa.
Ahhhh, but they DO have the backing of OPEC (I’d assume) and to bring one more into the fold would be worth their support (I’d imagine.)
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, countries that have differences over the delimitations of sea areas “can enter into provisional arrangements of a practical nature” before the final limitation, and such arrangements shall be without prejudice to the position of the countries concerned or to the final delimitation.
“If China won’t live up to its obligations as a good global citizen, then maybe its largest market, the U.S., can remind China that two can play at this game.”
I wouldn’t count on the US reminding China of anything except what spineless suck-ups many in our government have become when it relates to trade, or most anything related to China. They are much too busy portraying all our wonderful trading partners as upstanding, responsible world citizens to acknowledge how they actually behave (in order to justify even more “free trade” agreements trading US jobs and technology for cheap foreign labor).
IMHO keep out of the fight between Vietnam and China. How soon we forget how the Vietmanese treated our POW, MIA and their arrogance after we pulled out of Vietnam. Let the two commie nations fight it out, while we be like the monkey on the rock watching two lions fight. Some freepers forget about Vietnam’s outstanding international adherence to the Geneva Convention, religious and human rights, ethnic cleansing of the Hmongs and attacking ethnic Chinese in Vietnam when they had a spat with mainland China in 1979, boat people and etc, etc, etc. The Vietcong were bad as the Al Qaida when dealing with villages that did not submit to them. Kill village chief after they rape his daughter, then kill the man, cut off his pecker and stick it in his mouth, and hang his body near the trail so the US and South Vietmanese forces can see it as they recapture the village. Yeah, they are real humanitarians.
I own about thirty shares of XOM stock which I put into a dividend reinvestment plan, back when it was $30 / share.
I'm RICH, I tell you! ;-)
Cheers!
So...china says vietnam is a wayward stepchild, eh?
How long before china decides japan is a wayward stepchild? are vietnam and japan the same kinda thing as taiwan? A renegade province of china?
what a *ing joke.
If exxon backs down, to hell with them. I’ll spit on exxon.
“Yeah, they are real humanitarians.”
That’s all true, but I doubt our government would do anything anyway, so we’ll stay out of it due to a lack of confidence in dealing with those two nations. We constantly let China get away with cheating on our trade agreements, and our gov’t and corporations can’t move fast enough to cover up and minimize all the faulty and hazardous products that we’ve received from China.
Whatever our corporate interests are will be the determining factor, our overall corporate interests. So we’ll stay out of it so as not to offend China.
All that may be true......but WHEN do you propose to stop the Chinese? After they take Japan; after they occupy Australia?
The sooner the better is the answer as to when to stop them....IF they get this oil off Vietnam..they won’t stop..they will just keep coming.......
You are more than welcome to sit and watch, the rest of the world needs to draw a line in the sand.
Can everybody now say “lets go to the videotape? Umm Japan in the 1930’s? Sound familiar? Can we let history repeat itself? Seems like our spineless soon to be out of government future corporate lobbyists just see the big buck and would sell their soul and country for a few coins!!
Thanks for the ping. In spite of the protestations of Chinese bloggers the PRC doesn’t seem any less arrogant than they have ever been.
>>>Japan in the 1930’s? Sound familiar?
As much as I’d like to see China evolve into a 1st world nation, it keeps looking like their xenophobia, quick temper, and one-way deals (no capital repatriation) don’t look too promising.
A month or so ago, an Egyptian businessman was interviewed on Charlie Rose (liberal) PBS, and the international businessman said it was impossible for him to penetrate into China (and India was too corrupt).
The WTO is powerless in front of China. It’s like everyone has drunk some kind of kool-aid.
I understand Exxon is the last major American Oil company.
Empires of a feather.. flock together...
China amasses stake in BP
By David Barboza
SHANGHAI: A Chinese government entity has acquired a sizable stake in BP, one of the world’s largest oil companies, for about $2 billion.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/15/business/bp.php
Whoops forgot the obligatory...
Hey BP, GTHOOMC! ‘cause WE didn’t vote for your monarchies.
It seems that China is ready for yet another tussle with Viet Nam.
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