Conflict brewing in the wake of South China Sea Oil/Gas discovery

Ever since the massive oil and gas find in the South China Sea, nations in the region have been fighting over the rights to the deposit.

The United States has had several shows of brinksmanship in the area; they have been stationing a good portion of their navy in the region in order to attempt to get the region securely in the hands of Japan.

China recently declared that they are to safeguard the "peace" in the region; all of this so that they can make the "South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation." They really want to keep any PIECES of the discovery from falling into the hands of western interests.

With all of these powerful navy's patrolling the same area, it looks as if a conflict is brewing.

China, ASEAN agree to jointly safeguard peace of South China Sea

news.xinhuanet.com

SANYA, Feb. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on joint safeguarding the peace and stability of South China Sea, a two-day meeting which concluded here Thursday was told.

The China-ASEAN joint working group held its second meeting on implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in South China Sea (DOC) at Sanya, a city of China's southernmost province of Hainan.

Officials from China, ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretariat attended the meeting. They reiterated that they all attached importance to implementing the DOC, which was signed in 2002 as a guideline for conducts of all parties involved in the South China Sea issue.

Participants to the meeting all agreed that promoting the pragmatic cooperation in South China Sea is of great significance to pushing forward the development of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership.

They all agreed on safeguarding the peace and stability of the South China Sea region, and would work together to make the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation.

Participants to the meeting also reached agreement on relevant cooperation projects, and made a working plan for the China-ASEAN joint working group in 2006.