Disputed hydrocarbons

GUO RONGXING of the Regional Science Association of China at the Peking University analyzes critical issues relating to the management of exploitation of

seabed hydrocarbons in the disputed regions of the East China Sea. In an analysis for the Brookings Institution, "Territorial Disputes and Seabed Petroleum Exploitation: Some Options for the East China Sea", he examines the factors that have limited collaboration between China and Japan in exploring and extracting the resources and outlines potential principles to enhance Sino-Japanese interaction.

Another Persian Gulf??

SELIG S HARRISON, Director at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars provides a brief analysis of the various legal and jursdictional issues related to the treasure trove of untapped seabed oil and gas in the vast expanse of the East China Sea between China and Japan and the Yellow Sea between China and the Koreas and the motives of the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean players. In a study for the Project on Oil and Gas Cooperation in Northeast Asia, "Seabed Petroleum in Northeast Asia: Conflict or Cooperation?", he states that although agreement on a joint exploration zone was impeded by conflicting positions between Japan and China, the two Governments could authorize their oil companies to conduct seismic surveys, exploratory drilling, exchange data and negotiate terms of production operations and profit sharing while the conflicts were being resolved.