The Bali summit has assumed special importance for India this time since only last month, India was engaged in a bitter war of words with China over the starting of work of oil exploration and development in the Vietnamese waters in South China Sea. China lodged a strong protest against both Vietnam and India for such a collaboration on oil development in a “disputed area” as per Chinese officials. The controversy assumed bigger dimension as China has disputes with other countries in the region also including Philippines and Indonesia over their claims in their respective territorial waters.

EAS is a forum which is dominated by China so far. But this year, the other member countries have been disturbed at China’s big brother attitude on the issue of control of maritime waters and they are worried that China is trying to impose its own conditions, without caring for the accepted international norms. At the Bali summit, EAS will induct two new members USA and Russia. The induction of US as a member of EAS is expected to give some check to the domineering attitude of China in the Summit deliberations.

As far as India is concerned, India will go ahead with its current schedule of exploring oil and gas in the Vietnamese waters, irrespective of strong protests made by Chinese foreign ministry. Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), after detailed consultations with the External Affairs Ministry, has told the ONGC that there is no reason to have any doubts about the implementation of the exploration programme as scheduled earlier. Indian foreign ministry has told the ONGC that the area where the ONGC is scheduled to start work, is very much within the Vietnamese waters and any Chinese objection has no basis as per international maritime laws.

Accordingly, ONGC will go ahead with drilling at one of the blocks in the South China Sea within the Vietnamese waters early next year. There are two blocks in the Vietnamese waters- block 127 and block 128 and work for exploration will start in only one block. Vietnamese officials have told India that Vietnam has full sovereignty over these two blocks and any objection By China holds no legal basis and is thus invalid.

Significantly, more than four months are still left for the ONGC to start exploration work and the Indian Government officials are expected to make efforts during this period to find out a solution to this complex issue. However, seasoned diplomatic sources point out that it will not be easy for India to persuade China to give up its present stance. China has repeatedly said that it has indisputable sovereignty over essentially all of South China sea, a key trading route and that Beijing is opposed to any country engaged in oil and gas exploration in that zone without its permission. China has warned that any oil and gas exploration activities in South China Sea by any foreign company without approval of China were illegal and invalid. In fact, the Chinese state run Global Times in a hard hitting editorial, has said that Vietnam’s efforts to bring in foreign companies to explore for oil amount to a serious political provocation.

So far India is maintaining that its relationship with Vietnam is a part of its general policy of improving political and economic relations with the Asian nations and this has nothing to do with any strategy against China. India is working for fast expansion of its investment and trade relations with China and that is happening. The same thing can happen with Vietnam also. But experts say that the issue of South China Sea is so sensitive to China that it has to be taken up at the highest political level for a solution. China is jittery with Vietnam for its defiance of the Chinese warning and China will not easily give up this stance.

Indian experts point out that India is now making all efforts to strengthen its presence in the maritime waters in Asia-Pacific and this is not being liked by China. China thinks that this is a follow up of the US President Obama’s visit to India in November 2010 and the foreign secretary Hillary Clinton’s declaration that India has to assert itself in a stronger manner in Asian region. China is increasingly uncomfortable with the prospect of India’s rise and it has derided US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s call to India to play a greater role in East Asia. India’s naval activism has encouraged countries ranging from South Korea and Japan to Vietnam and Indonesia to view India as a possible counterweight to future China in South East Asia and this has worried Chinese leadership. These experts feel that China’s military alliances and forward deployment of its naval assets in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar would prompt India to respond in kind by seeking access to ports in Vietnam, Bangladesh and Japan. That way, the oil block dispute is a part of a bigger geo political game in which India and China are now involved.

The Bali Summit that way is being held in a surcharged atmosphere concerning maritime security and this will be the major agenda though the economic collaboration issues will be discussed in details and all the member countries are confident that the cooperation between the East Asian economies can contribute significantly to the easing of global economic crisis. Despite impact of Eurozone crisis and the US economy’s difficulties, East Asian economies are showing growth and that has to be boosted in the interests of the regional as also global economy. (IPA Service)