War for territory - World tour November 2011

We live in peaceful times. Conflicts being linked to something as mundane as natural resources is a conspiracy theory. Just kidding...

Cambodia: Villages razed to clear land for sugar plantation

Amnesty International and other organisations have exposed the Cambodian authorities' systematic failure to protect people from forced evictions. Forced evictions in the name of economic development now occur regularly across Cambodia, as local elites and foreign investors seek to capitalize on a newly privatized land market and take control of the country's natural resources.

Colombia: Tribes flee civil war and gold miners

About 10% of the hunter-gatherer Awa tribe have fled their ancestral mountain homes in the past decade. Some now survive as subsistence farmers on small lots provided by the government.

The tribe has been fighting palm oil plantations encroaching on their land for about 16 years, the civil war between leftist FARC and the government has produced an extremely dangerous territory including indigenous grounds littered with landmines and lately gold mines have taken away even more land and polluting its surroundings.



Read: BBC / Colombia's indigenous peoples face uncertain future, SOS Childrens' Villages / Dealing with the threat of landmines in Colombia.

Peru: Indigenous tribes protest planned gold mines

Several protesters were injured on November 25th when police dispersed anti-gold mine demonstration with tear gas. The US-based Newmont Mining Corporation plan to reconstruct local water flows used in farmers' irrigation. Locals protest mining projects throughout Peru and injuries are not uncommon.

"Companies come here, take the gold and then go away - just like in colonial times. People feel cheated." - Jorge Rimarachin

Read: AFP / Peruvian gold mine, locals clash over resources , MercoPress / Peruvian peasants clash with police to protest against gold mine in the Andes.


Sudan - South Sudan border: Ethnic cleansing?

After a brief spell in international media as a success story, newly founded South Sudan is now fighting a "war by proxy" paramilitaries with Sudan. The latter appear to currently be evicting certain ethnic groups.

DigitalGlobe imagery shows the presence of Antonov An-26's and other aircraft at El Obeid Airbase on 14 November 2011.

The Sea: The race for off-shore resources intensifying world wide

One third of oil production is now off-shore and the rate is climbing. Resources are found in the Arctic, in the South Chinese Sea, in the Mediterranean and elsewhere. Chinese and Turkish warships circle Vietnamese and Israeli drilling ships and platforms in each their own gunboat diplomatic efforts. These countries as well as the US, Russia and others are investing in new aircraft carriers, cruisers and destroyers.





Read: The New York Times / A New Era of Gunboat Diplomacy.


All just one big hoax. All of the above from the month of November 2011.

---

Asia: Oil, climate, conflict

A British company has been surveying for oil by Philippine request in waters China says is theirs.

Energy & Capital / China's Next Oil War:

China’s energy demand is insatiable. The country's state-owned oil firms are on an international buying spree and a disputed group of islands in the South China Sea could be the catalyst for the next oil war. [...] Learning from the West, China is picking up a big stick and enforcing its territorial claims... After all, the West has a long history of military adventures regarding rebels who sit on oil patches. [...] Today, China warned against any oil exploration without its consent in waters it claims in the South China Sea. This comes after a Philippine announcement that Forum Energy had completed a seismic survey for a piece of ocean near the Spratly Islands. The next step would be drilling. The oil-rich Spratlys are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and China. [...] The Spratlys are a group of 100 islands that cover 410,000 square kilometers. Some 45 of these islands are occupied by small military units. In recent years, various countries have been building airstrips and bunkers to protect their claims — which, up until recently, have been used as fishing stations and scuba Meccas. But battles have been fought in the past... Strategypage.com, a historical military website, writes: "In 1988, China and Vietnam fought a naval battle, off the Spratly islands. The Chinese victory, in which a Chinese warship sank a Vietnamese transport carrying troops headed for one of the disputed islands, was followed by Chinese troops establishing garrisons on some of the islands. In 1992, Chinese marines landed on Da Lac reef, in the Spratly Islands. In 1995, Chinese marines occupied Mischief Reef, which was claimed by the Philippines." It is clear China intends to defend its claims over the Spratly islands. It is unknown how these conflicts will be resolved. [...] Oil is the lifeblood of the world economy. Eight of the last nine recessions in the U.S were preceded by high oil prices.

Elsewhere: AFP / China warns against S. China Sea oil exploration, Philippine Star / China's military dominance over Spratlys affecting international trade.

In slightly related news, I just updated my collection of climate change and COP-15 related cables in the Wikileaks "cablegate". This time a headline from a Japanese agenda dated 26th of June 2009 read: "Japan-U.S. Sea Power Dialogue [...] Study the possibility of the security environment worsening due to climate change."