US imposes sanctions on China’s CNOOC oil firm over South China Sea

The US authorities on Thursday slapped extra sanctions on Chinese corporations and army officers over Beijing’s actions within the South China Sea.
At the middle of the wide-ranging sanctions was China’s state-owned oil firm, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), which was added to a US Commerce Department blacklist forbidding enterprise with US residents.
However, a US official mentioned the sanctions on the CNOOC don’t goal hydrocarbon exploration or joint ventures outdoors the South China Sea.
“The United States stands with Southeast Asian claimant states seeking to defend their sovereign rights and interests, consistent with international law,” mentioned US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “We will continue to act until we see Beijing cease its coercive behavior in the South China Sea.”
Pompeo mentioned the sanctions have been directed in opposition to these “responsible for, or complicit in, either the large-scale reclamation, construction, or militarization of disputed outposts in the South China Sea, or (China’s) use of coercion against Southeast Asian claimants to inhibit their access to offshore resources in the South China Sea.”
Why goal the CNOOC?
The US Commerce Department mentioned, “CNOOC has repeatedly harassed and threatened offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction in the South China Sea, with the goal of driving up the political risk for interested foreign partners, including Vietnam.”
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross mentioned the CNOOC “acts a bully for the People’s Liberation Army to intimidate China’s neighbors.”
The Commerce Department’s “Entity List” requires corporations to be granted a license earlier than they will obtain exports of high-tech objects from US suppliers.
The S&P Dow Jones mentioned late Wednesday that it could delist the CNOOC “on or before February 1,” which is a part of a wider marketing campaign by the Trump administration to isolate Chinese corporations from US buyers. Tech giants China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom have been faraway from buying and selling as of Monday.
The division additionally added Chinese aviation agency Skyrizon to a Military-End-User (MEU) List which restricts its entry to US exports.

None of the businesses concerned in Thursday’s sanctions instantly commented on the choice.
Why is the South China Sea necessary?
China claims practically the entire South China Sea, together with the Spratly Islands. Taiwan, The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all have claims.

The United States has lengthy opposed China’s territorial claims on the South China Sea, a strategic commerce route that will additionally embrace resource-rich areas.
The US sanctioned Chinese officers final yr over the mainland’s actions in Hong Kong and former actions within the South China Sea. It has additionally sanctioned many different tech firms, together with Huawei.