The United States introduced "nuclear" into the Philippines: Behind the dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, is the dilemma of the Philippines' energy depletionRecently, the United States and the Philippines signed an agreement on the export of nuclear technology and materials, which has attracted the attention and concern of netizens.
In response to this incident, we need to start with the problem of energy depletion in the Philippines to understand the underlying causes. The Philippines is an energy-strapped country, relying on fossil fuels for about 77% of its electricity.
According to reports, the Malapaya gas field, the largest natural gas field in the Philippines, is expected to be completely depleted by 2024.
This situation has left the Philippines** lagging behind in energy solutions, and external cooperation is urgently needed to fill the energy gap.
Regarding the South China Sea dispute, there are reports that the Philippines values oil and gas resources more than islands and reefs. The Philippines** admits that the environmental lawsuit they have filed is actually for the pursuit of oil and gas resources.
Relations between China and the Philippines are cold, and China is unlikely to jointly develop oil and gas resources in the South China Sea with the Philippines. Looking back at history, the United States has sent a nuclear power plant to the Philippines.
In the 70s of the last century, the United States donated nuclear power plants - the "Bataan Project". However, due to the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident, the Philippines** re-examined the safety status of the nuclear power plant and eventually shut down the Bataan nuclear power plant.
The accident led to several delays in the construction of the Bataan nuclear power plant. To sum up, the problem of energy depletion in the Philippines is the main reason behind the dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.
In order to solve the energy problem, the Philippines has signed a nuclear technology import agreement with the United States in pursuit of self-sufficiency, rather than developing oil and gas resources in the South China Sea with China.
The Philippines' history of nuclear cooperation with the United States, as well as the outcome of the nuclear power plant accident and the Bataan project, also illustrate the Philippines' energy dilemma.
As a result, the re-involvement of the United States in the Philippines' nuclear cooperation has attracted much attention. All in all, the problem of energy depletion in the Philippines is the main reason behind the dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.
The Philippines has sought external cooperation to solve its energy problems and has signed an agreement with the United States to import nuclear technology, but this is not related to China's development of oil and gas resources in the South China Sea.