Basic HTML Version
advance
ews
in
the wake of today's WORLD EVENTS
•
Asia's
11
North Sea"
Wirh che oil-rich Middle East sraggering along in irs
prcdicrably unsrable manncr, somc narions are looking for
ncw oil sources closer ro homc. Foremosr among rhese is
Japan, which currenrly depends on the volar ile Middle
Easr for sorne 90 percenr of irs perrolcum needs.
Of lace, che search has caken
che
Japanese ro rhe Sen–
kaku (or Tiaoyurai) Islands, a group of eighr ciny islcrs
locared sorne 150 miles norrhcasr of Taiwan in rhe East
China Sea and 205 miles olf rhc Chinese mainland. Pctro–
leum gcologisrs say rhesc uninhabi red islands and che
scabed surrounding rhem have rhc porenrial of becoming
onc of rhc ren major oil-producing ccnrers in rhe world.
The Senkakus cot1 ld rhus bccome Asia 's "Norrh
Sea." In che actual Norrh Sea, of course, severa! European
narions have al ready begun ro rap large reserves of oil and
natural gas.
Rival claims ro rhe Scnkakus are complicaring che
whole issue - and slowing down cxplorarion. As Senaror
Gcorge Aiken of Vermont has poinred our. "Wherever
you find oil , you find all kinds of polirical and military
implicarions." The Senkakus are a dramaric case in poinr.
The Japanese consider the Scnkakus co be pan of rhe
Ryukyu chain. The Narionalisr Chi nese governmenr on
Taiwan, however, also claims sovcrcignry over rhe islands.
Furrhcr complicaring rhe issuc, che Chinese Communisrs
on che mainland agree che Senkakus belong co China -
bur ro
their
China, not ro rhe Narionaliscs.
In mid-1970 Taiwan granred a concession for oil ex–
plorarion ro Gulf Oil. Japan meanwhile rurned over. drill–
ing rights ro che Japan Oil Devclopmenr Corporanon.
In 1970, che Communisr Ncw China News Agcncy
announccd rhar "any atrempr of rhc Japanese militarisrs
ro occupy rhe islands will be co nsidered aggression againsr
Chincse rerri rory."
For che presenr rhe Japancsc have chosen ro cake Pc·
king's warning ar face valuc and co lic low. Bur rhe .furure
mighr bring an agreemenr berwccn Japan and mamland
China - wirh Taiwan proresring, of course - over joinr
dcvelopmenr of che Senkaku oil reserves. Even a compro·
mi¡;e on che sovereignty issue mighr be worrh it ro J apa-
20
nesc indusrry, presenrly dcpcndenr on rhc Middle East for
chis mosr vital fuel source.
•
New Ties to Europe
Consrrucrion is now undcrway on rwo marvels of
enginccring desrined ro more closely link Brirain and a
good porrion of Asia ro thc growing world economic
power hub of Europe.
The firsr projecr - a long-soughr-for runnel undcr
che English Channel - is d(.:scribed as rhe mosr sraggering
engineering fear of rhe ccnrury. And ar che orher cnd of
Europc, consrrucrion is progrcssing on a gianr suspension
bridge - rhe fourrh largesr in rhc world - designcd ro
link Asia ro Europc across rhc Bosporus Srrair for rhe flrsr
rime in 2,500 years. The Bosporus divides che Turkish
merropolis of Istanbul inro European and Asían sccwrs.
The long-planned and ofr-posrponed Channd Tun·
nel projecr is scheduled for complerion in rhe !are 1970's
ar an esrimared cosr of sorne $900 million. The Channd
Tunnel, exrending from Folkcsrone in sourheasrern
England ro Calais on rhc norrhwcsr coasr of France, will
facilitare rapidly cxpanding rravcl and rrade berween Brit·
ain and the orher mcmbers of rhc enlarged Common Markcr.
Ar rhe opposirc end of che Conrincnr, rhe Bosporus
Bridge will be rhe longcsr suspension bridge in Europe or
Asia when
ir
is complered in lace 1973. The mile-long
span will
be
rhe firsr linking of Asia ro Europe since King
Dari us of Persia madc a "bridge" of rafrs in 513 B.
C.
A bridge across rhe Bosporus has become an cco–
nomic necessiry. Overworked 50-year-old ferries presenrly
provide rhe onl}' link for mororisrs across rhe srrair. result·
ing in congestion of rraJlic and cradc. The ncw span will
carry six lanes for rraffic and rwo pcdesrrian walkways, and
link Turkey's major European and Asían road nctworks.
Easrward from Turkey exrends a major inrcrnarional
highway sysrem rhroughour much of Asia, now largely
complete. And ro rhe wcsr are already well -developcd road
and rail nerworks - parrially across Communisr soil
exrending inro che hearr of Europc. The new bridge could
makc Turkcy a major world
cr<~~sroads
in che fururc.
- Gene H. Hogberg
PLAIN TRUTH August 1972