This article examines the petroleum regimes of China, the Philippines and
Vietnam to ascertain whether they countenance the rule of capture in the South
China Sea. It concludes that the policy and practice of Vietnam clearly and
absolutely do not countenance the application of the rule of capture in regard
to potential or actual transboundary petroleum deposits in the South China Sea.
On the other hand, China has maintained a 1996 secrecy regulation, which
authorises China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to undertake
unilateral activities involving transboundary deposits in disputed areas of the
South China Sea. At the same time, China has adopted bilateral declarations
and agreements that preclude the application of the rule of capture in both
delimited and undelimited areas of the South China Sea. As for Philippine
policy and practice, there is ambivalence towards the potential or actual
presence of transboundary deposits.published_or_final_versio
