In the southern part of the mainland, there are many archipelagos that can be called "strategically important", among which Reed Beach is a treasure of oil, with as much as 800 million tons of oil resources!
Based on initial exploration, its potential resources could be as high as 1.4 billion tonnes if mined at depth. Is there a risk that this treasure land, which is only 148 kilometers from the Philippines, will fall into the hands of others?
Reed Lok Beach is rich in resources
Reed Bank is one of the most oil-rich areas on the mainland, and it is praised as the "Persian Gulf of the South China Sea". The sea area of Reed Beach is very large, with a length of 130 kilometers from north to south and a width of more than 65 kilometers from east to west.
Reed Bank is the largest underwater atoll in the Spratly waters of the mainland. However, although Reed Beach is an underwater atoll, its deepest point is about 40 meters, and the shallowest point is only 9 meters, and the water depth is less than 200 meters, so the overall water is not very deep.
Reed Bank is rich in marine resources, and because the shallow marine environment is suitable for coral reef development, the area is also suitable for the construction of large islands. According to the laws of nature, in the future, even if there is no artificial intervention, the local area can become a natural island exposed to the sea, which will be a precious land resource for the mainland.
In addition to the endless possibilities for the future, the region is also rich in oil resources. Reed Beach was originally land, but due to geological changes, the original land of Reed Beach sank to the bottom of the sea, and it became the current state of Reed Bank. However, it is precisely because of the geological movement that Lile Beach has rich oil and gas resources.
In the South China Sea, there are up to 60 billion tons of oil and gas reserves, especially in the area where Reed Bank is located. Reed Beach has more than 800 million tons of oil resources and more than 55.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas resources. It can be said that whoever owns this place, at least for a long time, will not worry about oil and gas resources and can "lie flat" for a while.
According to expert estimates, if extracted, the oil resources in this area can be exploited by humans for about a hundred years, and even better, the mining conditions here are very advantageous compared to the difficulty of land extraction.
However, it is precisely because of the abundant oil and gas resources in the Reed Bank area, and it is very close to the Philippines, only 148 kilometers. The Philippines has always wanted to occupy this place.
The Philippines wants to take away this treasure land?
As an island nation, the Philippines has always relied on its own Malapaya gas field in the east of Palawan. The field produces almost half of the natural gas needed for the Philippines' power generation, but according to resource estimates, the oil and gas field on which the Philippines depends could be depleted in less than a decade.
If the Philippines does not find new oil and gas fields to replace it during this period, it will face a serious power supply problem.
If no new oil and gas fields can be found, the power supply of the Philippines will be paralyzed, and the economic development of the Philippines and the daily life of residents will be seriously affected. The impact of lack of motivation on the economy is huge and can even lead to the economic paralysis of the country.
More than a decade ago, the Philippines was aware of its lack of oil and gas resources, so it began to look for new sources of oil and gas extraction early on. At this time, Reed Beach, which is only 148 kilometers away from the Philippines in the South China Sea region, was targeted by the Philippines.
At that time, after the oil resources of the mainland's Reed Bank were discovered, the Philippines was interested in the mainland because of the need for new oil and gas exploration activities. Since 1976, the Philippines has been carrying out oil exploration activities on a number of islands and sandbanks, including Rio Tan, because Reed Bank is really close to the Philippines, so the Philippines has directly carried out oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities in this area.
In 1979, the Philippines built its own drilling platforms No. 1 and No. 2 in the Reed Bank area, which brought huge economic benefits to the Philippines. The Philippines developed oil directly in Reed Bank, but the Philippines was not satisfied, but continued to occupy some Spratly Islands on the mainland, and even directly established airports in some island areas for transportation and exploitation.
After seeing the Philippines do this, nearby countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia are not willing to let go of this big cake, and they have also joined the oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea region of the mainland.
Relying on American and Russian companies, they have built more than 200 mining companies and enterprises in this area, and also built more than 1,000 offshore drilling platforms for mining.
Oil and gas are being stolen from Reed Bank
But history has taught us that this region has been the territory of China since ancient times. As early as the Ming and Qing dynasties, mainland officials have made it clear that this area is under the jurisdiction of the mainland, and at that time, mainland fishermen often came here to exploit and fish.
During the Ming Dynasty, when Zheng He went to the Western Ocean, he also led a fleet through this sea area. During the period of the Republic of China, the mainland called this area Luotan until 1947, when this sea area was officially renamed Lile Beach. Although the name has changed, what has not changed is that this sea area has been an inseparable part of the continent since ancient times.
In fact, the Philippines does not know that this sea area is our China's place, and the Philippines knows that if they brazenly exploit the oil and gas resources in the Reed Bank waters, they will definitely have a direct conflict with the mainland, and they will also suffer from the impact of public opinion, after all, it is common sense that the South China Sea is our territorial waters.
As a result, the Philippines began all kinds of "riot operations," and especially with the support of the United States, it always sent all kinds of ships to the mainland's waters off Reed Bank to harass the mainland's coast guard ships and find all kinds of trouble.
This went on for five or six years. It wasn't until 2011 that the Philippines, seeing that its oil and gas resources were threatened, directly dispatched its own exploration vessels and joined forces with British energy companies to directly attack Reed Bank.
The unusual behavior of the Philippine exploration ship was soon detected by the radar of the mainland's naval patrol, and after some back and forth, the illegal exploration of oil and gas resources that the Philippines tried to provoke could only end in vain. However, the Philippines did not give up, and later harassed and probed by various means, and even directly rammed a Chinese fishing boat in our waters, and the mainland made solemn representations, but the Philippines was unwilling to apologize.
Over the years, the Philippines has been creating trouble in the South China Sea. Even as the mainland tries to resolve disputes in the South China Sea, including by cooperating with the Philippines to develop oil and gas resources, the Philippines has intensified its efforts. To this day, the situation in Reed Beach is still facing, the Philippines provokes, then we fight back, then the Philippines can only retreat, and then the next time we find another opportunity to provoke.
The cost of the development of Reed Beach is too high
Oil and gas extraction is never easy. Exploiting the oil and gas in Reed Bank is extremely costly. First of all, although the water is not deep, the oil and gas are buried deep in the ocean, and it is precisely because of this that if you want to exploit the oil and gas resources of Reed Bank, you have to go deep into the deep sea.
However, the mainland's deep-sea oil and gas exploitation technology is still in the development stage, especially the independent oil and gas exploitation activities are still in the new development, so it will take time and higher technology to carry out large-scale oil and gas exploitation in the South China Sea.
At present, the cost of extracting the oil and gas resources of Reed Bank is extremely high, and this cost is not only higher than that of the mainland in other regions, but even higher than the cost of our imported oil. Coupled with harassment from countries such as the Philippines, we have not started large-scale mining in the Reed Bank area.
Although the Philippines has not given up its action on the resources of this sea, the mainland is not a vegetarian either. In the 20 th century, because the mainland's naval strength was still in its infancy, its management of the South China Sea was not very adequate, giving other countries the opportunity to enter and leave the mainland's waters.
As the mainland has become more and more in control of the South China Sea, the mainland's rights and interests in the South China Sea, especially in the Lile Bank area, are being withdrawn into its own hands. In addition to the substantial management and layout of this sea area, including the establishment of sovereignty markers, the dispatch of naval vessels to patrol the sea area, and the construction of artificial islands, the mainland has also carried out more in-depth exploration activities for oil and gas resources near Reed Bank.
In July 2023, the mainland specially organized a scientific expedition operation, and the scientific research ship carried out more detailed exploration activities on Lile Bank. In addition to exploration, up to now, the mainland's oil exploitation technology has also made a qualitative leap.
Continental has independently developed the world's first deepwater oil production platform with a maximum displacement of 110,000 tons and a total height of more than 120 meters, reaching 100,000 tons. The platform has been officially opened in September 2021, and it is believed that this platform will soon exert its powerful economic function.
The waters of the mainland must not fall into the hands of other countries
If our islands and reefs in the South China Sea, such as Reed Bank, fall into the hands of other countries, especially the Philippines, the mainland will not only lose important oil and gas resources, but more importantly, the mainland's land area will suffer.
If we allow other countries to exploit our resources, or even if the islands and reefs fall into the hands of other countries, we will not only face serious national security problems, but also suffer heavy losses to the mainland's development.
Therefore, not only Reed Beach, but the entire South China Sea region must be in our own hands, and this is our safety card. However, whether this card falls into the hands of the Philippines, other East Asian countries, or even the United States, the mainland's economic development and homeland security will be infringed.
After all, as a non-renewable resource, oil resources are called black gold, and it is the "blood" of modern industrial development, whether it is the development of the country's economy or the daily life of ordinary people, it is impossible to leave.
When do you think the oil and gas resources from Reed Bank will be used by the mainland to the market? If the oil resources from Reed Bank to the South China Sea are developed, can the current oil price problem be alleviated?