Disputes regarding sovereignty over the petroleum prone area around the South China Sea's Spratly and Parcel islands could erupt into an international conflict that would make the Cambodian problem seem trifling, according to Philippine ministry of foreign affairs officials.
China and Viet Nam set aside the controversy in their high level meeting last November on friendship and cooperation. But a dispatch from Hanoi to the Moscow newspaper Izvestia says tensions in the South China Sea region are still high, and jurists must take up the question of whether foreign oil companies can be invited to explore the area and produce any petroleum that may be found.
Izvestia said Viet Nam and China have each staked claim to eight of the tiny Spratly atolls, Malaysia is now claiming three, Philippines about 10, and Taiwan one.
Even Brunei reportedly plans to assert sovereignty over a southern sector of the islands.
The Philippine minister of foreign affairs has again confirmed his government's intention to maintain and even expand its military presence in the Spratly area despite Chinese warnings, Izvestia said.
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