BP halts oil and gas exploration in VN due to territorial dispute between Hanoi and Beijing

BP halts Viet exploration plan

15-Jun-07
Tom Bergin and Chen Aizhu
Reuters
LONDON/BEIJING

Hanoi row with China, Taiwan over group of islands cited

BP PLC has halted plans to conduct exploration work off the southern Vietnamese coast due to a territorial dispute between Hanoi and China, the oil and gas firm said on Wednesday.

"In the circumstances, we felt we had to suspend the planned seismic surveys of Block 5.2 in order to give the governments involved the opportunity to resolve the issue," spokesman David Nicholas told Reuters.

The block is about 370km offshore, between Vietnam and the Spratly Islands, a string of rocky outcrops in the South China Sea, suspected of containing large oil and gas deposits, which are claimed by Vietnam, China and Taiwan.

In April, after Vietnam said it planned to hold local elections on the islands, the Chinese foreign ministry said Vietnam was stirring up trouble by agreeing with BP and its partners to develop the area.

Vietnam replied that the US$2 billion ($3.1 billion) natural gas field and pipeline project was within the bounds of its sovereignty.

Nicholas said BP's gas production, fuel distribution and power operations in Vietnam were unaffected. He said BP had not expected to bring Block 5.2 or neighbouring Block 5.3 onstream for "some years".

US oil major ConocoPhillips and Petrovietnam are partners in the exploration block.

Vietnam has traditionally been wary of its larger Asian neighbour and in 1979 the two countries fought a brief border war after Vietnam occupied Cambodia and overthrew the murderous Khmer Rouge regime backed by Beijing.

Beijing and Hanoi normalised relations in 1991.

In 1988, China and Vietnam fought a brief naval battle near one of the Spratly Island reefs in which more than 70 Vietnamese sailors died. But tensions have eased considerably in recent years as relations improve.

A source said French oilfield service group CGGVeritas had been hired to conduct the 3D seismic survey works, using its vessel Orion.

Cambodia: Garment workers threaten strikes

May 22nd, 2007
By Jef Costello
libcom.org

Garment workers are trying to prevent large pay cuts. At the same time building workers have gone on strike in support of sacked colleagues.

The garment workers are threatening strikes in reaction to governement proposals to change the law that compels employers to pay double wages for night work. By cutting this premium by 70% the Prime Minister, Hun Sen, claims he will be able to create tens of thousands of new jobs. The industry is currently responsible for US$2.3bn worth of exports yearly, almost 80% of the total.

The government plans will affect other industries if they can be succesfully applied here. The 70000-strong Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) has threatened strike action. Currently only 10000 out of some 300000 workers work at night, with the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia claiming that night-workers are too expensive. The legislation is clearly an attempt by the government to normalise night work enabling factories to run 24 hours a day. With the minimum monthly wage set at $50 and union members estimating monthly living costs at $57, it is easy to see that workers will be rapidly forced into night work.

Last year there was a large increase in labour disputes and an increase in the number of disputes that led to strikes. For almost 80% of strikes the reason given was the refusal of management to respect employment laws.

In the Naga resort, near the capital Phnom Penh, workers building a new casino have gone on strike, calling for the reinstatement of 36 carpenters who were fired on Sunday. Management is denying that the workers were fired, claiming that the work they had been contracted to do was finished.

The workers, employed by China Central Asia Group, are also angered by salary cuts, one worker said there had been a pay cut from 14000 riels to 8000 per day (£1.76 to £1). Workers also demand that conditions be improved at the site.

One of the workers claimed that management was deliberately pressuring unionised workers to force them to quit. Mœun Tola, the President of the National Building Workers union claimed that the sacked workers were not on the site due to fear of reprisals. Workers and organisers have been reported rising intimidation i recent years and three union leaders have been murdered, with pro-government forces being blamed.

A Cambodian journalist, Keo Nimol, has gone into hiding after Prime Minister Hun Sen called him "insolent" and "rude" during a radio broadcast. It is claimed that after the broadcast Mr Sen asked for personal information on Mr Nimol. During the interview Mr Nimol had tried to ask Mr Sen if rumours of a rift between the two parties in the government coalition were true.

Construction Workers Cite Abuses on Casino Hotel Construction

Thida Win, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
22/05/2007

The Cambodian National Federation of Building and Wood Workers issued a statement Tuesday accusing a construction group of threats against workers and abuse of labor rights in the building of a hotel next to Phnom Penh's Naga casino.

The union said it was disappointed because earlier this month the Cambodia China Asia Group laid off 36 member workers due to their union affiliation.

A company spokesman, Sin Peang, said they were laid off because their specialties were no longer needed.

Federation president Sok Sovandeth said the workers were now afraid of being put in prison.

"They were driven from the place where they live," he said. "Therefore, they do not dare come out in the open, because of the threats."