China’s harassment of Malaysia’s ongoing oil exploration in its coastal waters—but which Beijing deems as within the vast maritime area that it disputes in the South China Sea—has reinvented the norm and set new rules against any future development in the area by other claimant states, a think tank has said. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) of the Center for Strategic and International Studies warned that China’s action has sent signals, both to firms and other claimant countries, that no oil and gas exploration can be conducted from now on in the South China Sea without its imprimatur. “Southeast Asian governments and commercial operators will have to come to grips with the reality that new oil and gas exploration anywhere in the South China Sea without Beijing’s permission will probably face the same level of high-risk intimidation,” the AMTI said as it tracks the current standoff involving China, Malaysia and Vietnam in the SCS.

Acosta, R. (2020, May 4). China harassment of oil-exploring boats signal to claimants–AMTI. Business Mirror, pp. A8, A4.