Safeguard Arabian Sea-Indian Ocean-Bay of Bengal from Chinese Encirclement of India

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala                                                      19.10.2011 

Thiru.Ooman Chandi Tiruvananthapuram

Respected Chief Minister

Subject: Need to safeguard Arabian Sea-Indian Ocean-Bay of Bengal from Chinese encirclement of India, expansionism to indulge in sea floor mining and plans to dominate sea lanes connecting Saudi to China through oil pipelines beneath our seas and to awaken vigilance towards India’s security and national interests through Government of Kerala… regarding. Let me alert the Government of Kerala about the volcanic chains in Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal where mining for oil, natural gas and minerals by Indian corporate and Chinese counterparts is on the anvil.

Let me bring to your notice that The International Seabed Authority in collaboration with the Government of Fiji and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) SOPAC Division is organizing an International Workshop on Environmental Management Needs for Exploration and Exploitation of Deep Sea Minerals, to be held in Nadi, Fiji Islands from 29 November to 2 December 2011. 

● Let coastal states of South India like Tamilnadu, Kerala hereafter pay more attention to such workshops and debate the impact of deep sea mining off shore of respective states. Our appeal is to all Chief Ministers of Coastal states not to leave these workshops or activities of leasing out of our adjacent seas by International Seabed Authority as the domain of Indian foreign service bureaucrats of Union Government ministries. The after effects of deep sea mining will be borne by the people of coastal states and as their chosen representatives these Chief Ministers and politicians of these coastal states have to keep vigil on International Seabed Authority and countries like China which have dreams to become world power cutting down India to size in order to gain supremacy over India.

 This workshop takes place in the aftermath of The International Seabed Authority approving the application from the China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA) to explore an area of the ridge for 15 years, covering about 10,000 square kilometers, on July 22 of 2011. China’s approval for conducting exploration activities in the Southwest Indian Ridge is the country’s second such area with exclusive rights, following the 75,000 square kilometer poly metallic nodule ore deposit in the east Pacific Ocean, which was licensed in 2001.

India, however, has become highly alarmed by this development, fearing that Beijing may use the exploration permit granted by the ISA as an excuse to operate their warships in the Indian Ocean – an area seen in India as clearly within its sphere of influence. Reports in India say that the country’s Directorate of Naval Intelligence has given a warning note to related defense departments. In the mid 1950s the oceans came under the freedom-of-the-sea doctrine – a 17th century principle that limited national rights and jurisdiction over the oceans to a narrow belt of sea surrounding a nation’s coastline.

The United Nations convened three conferences on the Law of the Sea producing four conventions dealing respectively with the territorial sea and the contiguous zone, the high seas, fishing and conservation of living resources in the high seas and the continental shelf. In 1970 after years of intensive efforts, the UN Assembly unanimously declared the seabed and ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction to be the common heritage of mankind and convened a conference in 1973 which would lead to establishing the International Seabed Authority to organize and control all activities in the Area with a view to administering resources.

It is from this Authority China had won approval to mine in Indian Ocean. The current areas of Chinese exploration are within the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Equatorial North Pacific Ocean and the Central Indian Basin in the Indian Ocean. Here it is pertinent to point to the Government of Kerala that China plans to bring oil through pipelines beneath Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean encircling India and to reach Hampanthotta harbor it has built in Southern Srilanka facing Indian Ocean. From there the current sea-lane where it brings oil through shipping vessels reaches South China Seas. China plans the oil pipeline to reach Yangoon in Myanmar. Then through vessels or pipelines in River Iravadhi it would reach the nearest point to China.

Proposed oil pipeline through Myanmar to reach China’s Yunnan province. China's largest oil firm and parent company of PetroChina will build and operate the pipeline whose construction is due to finish in 2013.The SinoMyanmar oil and gas pipeline starts at Kyaukryu port on the west coast of Myanmar and enters China at Yunnan's border city of Ruili. The 2,380-km long oil pipeline will end in Kunming City, capital of Yunnan. It is expected to carry 22 million tonnes of crude oil per annum to China from the Middle East and Africa. The natural gas pipeline will be even longer, running from Kunming into Guizhou Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China for a total length of 2,806 km. It is expected to transport 12 billion cubic meters of gas to China every year. The project is the fourth way for oil and natural gas to enter China, after ocean shipping, the SinoKazakhstan pipelines and the Sino-Russian crude oil pipeline.

KERALA The geophysical field team of the ONGC found traces of oil in KeralaKonkan basin as early as 1977.ONGC employed the service of Geo-searcher, a Norwegian seismic-survey ship, to find evidence of oil in the KK basin, located 55-nautical miles (102 Km) off the Kochi shore. Later that year, another survey ship owned by a London based company conducted a comprehensive survey of the Kerala coast. 

The ship mapped sea floor from the Kochi coast to Ponnani. In 2008, Norsecot, commissioned by ONGC began experimental drilling off the Kochi coast. A floater type energy driller rig, capable of reaching 3500 meters into the sea was employed. In 2009, there were unconfirmed reports that the team had struck gold. The exploration was reported to have found traces of hydro carbons at a depth of 1500 meter. 

The war for the Continental shelves in 

Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal 

There is oil in the Bay of Bengal and the evidence of Methane gas in the Shale treasures of the Arabian Sea point to rich deposits of Carbon based riches on the shorelines of Pakistan. Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan are stuck in protracted stalemates on resolving the issues of the law of the sea. India’s claim over 300,000 sq. km of seabed in the Bay of Bengal that could potentially have large hydrocarbon reserves is being disputed by its eastern neighbours Myanmar and Bangladesh. 14 Myanmar,in 4 August 2009 letter to the United Nations (UN), has complained that India has unilaterally extended the maritime boundary between the two countries, contravening a 1986 bilateral agreement. A copy of the letter is available on the UN website. The maritime boundary between nations is an important reference point for establishing claims over untapped oil and gas, and mineral wealth in continental shelves. A continental shelf is the relatively shallow seabed surrounding a continent that could, in many instances, extend beyond a country’s exclusive economic zone, defined by the UN as a sea area within 200 nautical miles (360km) from the shore. 

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea permits countries to claim continental shelf regions beyond the exclusive economic zone (giving exclusive fishing and mining rights), provided they can back it up with scientific data. On 12 May 2009, India staked claim to large swathes of seabed under the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, which a government scientist involved with the survey process pegged at approximately 0.6 million sq. km of continental shelf. The Bay of Bengal is not the only Continental Shelf that is being contested. The Arabian Sea is also being contested. Sir Creek makes a huge difference in the number of Nautical miles which come under the control of Pakistan or Bharat. Northwestern branch of the Indian Ocean, covering 3,859,000 sq km/1,489,970 sq mi, with India to the east, Pakistan and Iran to the north, and the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia to the west. It is linked with the Red Sea via the Gulf of Aden, and with the Gulf via the Gulf of Oman. Its depth is 2,730 m/8,956 ft. The chief river flowing into the Arabian Sea is the Indus, which is linked with a large submarine canyon in the continental shelf. The sea is rich in fish. Chinese released a guideline on the oceanic science and technology development between 2011 and 2015, vowing to invest more to boost the country's maritime economy. China is the fifth country to send a man 3,500 meters below sea level, following the United States, France, Russia and Japan. In our opinion, each country should think carefully of consequences ocean mining will have on the environment. Regarding who should share the profit, I think that both rich and poor countries should have the same rights. Those rights should be set by the International Law and everybody should respect that agreement.