Int’l cps- brag lab- wave 1 Theory
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Mineral MiningChinese companies are investing in new robotics that will be able to develop and mine for REE—perm fails--US and China have competing interestsO’Connor 11 [Patrick, Journalist with the World Socialist Web Site, mainly covering Australian, East Timorese, and South Pacific politics, “Rival powers scramble for seabed mineral rights in South Pacific”, 6/29/11, http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2011/06/seab-j29.html] alla Chinese companies are reportedly keen to begin exploration in the region. China last year filed the first application to the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for a deep sea mining project in international waters, in the Indian Ocean. The Chinese government recently boosted funding for deep sea technologies, including robotics and special submersibles, in part to bolster its position in the contested waters of the South China Sea.¶ Minmetals, China’s largest metals trader, announced in April that it was accelerating its research into deep seabed mining. Minmetals President Zhou Zhongshu told the China Daily: “China relies heavily on costly raw-material imports, and this will push the country to go for deep-sea mining to explore metals, including copper, nickel, silver and gold.”¶ Japan is promoting its industry, with the state Natural Resources and Energy Agency directing mining companies to hydrothermal deposits off the Okinawa Islands and the Iza-Ogasawara Island chain south of Tokyo, areas reportedly containing rich deposits of gold, silver and rare earth minerals.¶ China currently produces 95 percent of the world’s rare earth minerals, which are used in many high-tech devices, such as fibre optics, computer disk drives and memory chips, and high-temperature superconductors. When Beijing announced an embargo on rare earth exports last year, prices spiked. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared the incident a “wake-up call” on the urgent need to find new sources.¶ The potential for huge profits from deep seabed mining adds further fuel to the growing rivalry for economic and political influence in the South Pacific between US imperialism and its Australian and New Zealand allies, on the one hand, and the rising power, China, on the other. China is exploring the Indian Ocean for deep-sea minerals—China has the capability to make tech innovations in mineral miningThe Hindu 11 [an English-language Indian daily newspaper, “China to expand seabed mining in Indian Ocean”, 9/17/11, http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/china-to-expand-seabed-mining-in-indian-ocean/article2462204.ece] alla BEIJING, SEPT 17: ¶ China today announced plans to expand its seabed mineral explorations in the Indian Ocean after an international authority approved its bid to mine for polymetallic sulphide ore, much to the surprise of India.¶ Beijing has approval to explore in a 10,000 sq km seabed area in southwest Indian Ocean for the ore and now it plans to invest more to expand the “depth and scope of oceanic research”.¶ Following the approval, China’s Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association is set to sign a 15-year exploration contract with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) later this year granting pre-emptive rights for it to develop the ore deposit in future, state-run Xinhua reported.¶ “We will expand the depths and scope of oceanic research and improve our understanding of the ocean, with special focuses on the polar regions and deep sea environments,” Liu Cigui, head of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), told a meeting on oceanic technology here.¶ The move has raised concerns in India with the Directorate of Naval Intelligence (DNI) informing the Indian government that the contract would provide an excuse for China to operate its warships besides compiling data on the vast mineral resources in India’s backyard.¶ Chinese released a guideline on the oceanic science and technology development between 2011 and 2015, vowing to invest more to boost the country’s maritime economy.¶ Liu said more efforts will be made to boost innovation and strive for breakthroughs in key technology in order to stimulate the development of emerging oceanic industries but did not mention the amount money China will be investing.¶ The announcement followed China’s bid for exploring the international seabed region of southwest Indian Ocean for polymetallic sulphide deposit was approved by ISA, last month much to the surprise+ of India. China is expanding its deep-sea mineral mining activities now—China has exclusive access to valuable resources underwaterChina Daily 14 [China Daily is an English-language daily newspaper published in the People's Republic of China, 4/30/14, “Country gets OK to mine ocean floor”, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-04/30/content_17475337.htm] alla China can now search the international seabed for three valuable minerals after a new exploration contract with the International Seabed Authority was signed on Tuesday in Beijing.¶ The 15-year contract signed between ISA and the China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association approved the country's exploration plans in the western Pacific Ocean for cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts.¶ Under the contract, China has exclusive right to explore an initial area of 3,000 square kilometers. Over the first 10 years of the contract, 2,000 sq km of this area is to be relinquished.¶ Cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts contain rare metals such as cobalt, nickel and iron and are used in various industries such as engineering, electronics, infrastructure and batteries.¶ The contract, the third signed between ISA and COMRA, makes China the only nation authorized to explore international seabeds for as many as three major types of minerals - polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulfides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts.¶ "China's faith and responsibility in peacefully exploring deep-sea resources and protecting the deep-sea environment will motivate our further cooperation in deep-sea activities," Jin Jiancai, COMRA's director, said at the signing ceremony.¶ He said COMRA will conduct comprehensive investigation and assessment on the resources and the environment in the contract area to deepen scientific knowledge of the deep sea and make contributions to global deep-sea exploration.¶ ISA has received 26 applications, of which 19 contractors have been given the go-ahead, to explore international seabeds for the three valuable minerals.¶ Michael W. Lodge, deputy to the secretary-general and legal counsel of ISA, congratulated China's impressive progress over the past decade.¶ Although a latecomer to deep-sea exploration, China won the right to search for polymetalic nodules in the northeastern Pacific Ocean in 2001, for polymetallic sulfide deposits in the southwestern Indian Ocean in 2011 and for cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts in the western Pacific in 2014.¶ With China's first contract to end in 2016, which means the country can begin commercially mining for polymetallic nodules in the northeastern Pacific, the country still faces technical hurdles in mining the ocean floor.¶ China is also improving its legal system related to deep-sea exploration and mining to regulate deep-sea activities and protect the ocean, according to the China Institute for Marine Affairs, a think tank for the State Oceanic Administration. 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