Nansha Islands (Spratly Islands) of China: news

Philippines and China security talks 17-11-04
RP, China to put up
mechanisms for security talks
By Agence France-Presse

THE PHILIPPINES and China have agreed to establish mechanisms for annual security talks that would involve an exchange of military delegations, the national defense department said Wednesday.

The agreement came after Filipino Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz met with his Chinese counterpart General Cao Gangchuan on a visit to Beijing last week, the department said in a statement.

Cooperation on counter-terrorism, humanitarian relief and rescue missions would also be strengthened, it added.

It did not, however, say whether there would be joint security cooperation on the disputed Spratlys chain of islands in the South China Sea.

The potentially oil-rich Spratlys are being claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

All the claimants, except Brunei, have troops stationed in the area and there have been deadly clashes in the past.

In September, the other claimants expressed concern when the Philippines and China announced a joint three-year project to gather data on petroleum resources in the area.

Vietnam has warned that the joint study could be in violation of a 2002 code of conduct signed by the claimants to refrain from actions that could disturb the volatile peace in the islands.

source: http://www.inq7.net/globalnation/sec_new/2004/nov/17-03.htm