Bangalore, April 6
A day after a Chinese official said India would pay a heavy price for exploring oil in the disputed South China Sea, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna today said its waters were the “property of the world” and did not come under the jurisdiction of any nation.

The warning by Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS), came on Thursday, a day after China lost political round on the issue at the Asean summit in Cambodia.

Interacting with reporters here, Krishna said, “India maintains that South China Sea is the property of the world. I think those tradeways must be free from any nation’s interference.”

Krishna said the area should rather be used for increasing trade-related activities amongst nations. “This has been accepted by Asean countries and by China in their dialogue with the Asean group of nations. India subscribes to the theory that these tradeways should be freeways for trade to prosper,” he said.

China has been repeatedly objecting to oil exploration by India and other activity in the South China Sea region where it has territorial disputes with Asean countries like Vietnam.

A top Chinese Foreign Ministry official had warned India ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to New Delhi last month to refrain from oil exploration in the area to ensure “peace and stability”.

India signed an agreement with Vietnam last October to expand and promote oil exploration in the South China Sea.

The pact between the Indian and Vietnamese state-owned oil companies included new investments and the exploration and supply of oil and gas to the countries.