The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the US Department of Commerce has added China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to its Entity List.
Commerce officials claim the company threatens US national security by helping China intimidate its neighbours in the South China Sea.
Officials added that, despite protests from the United States and other countries, China has been rapidly building artificial islands in the said waters since 2013, enabling the Chinese Communist Party's militarisation of disputed outposts in the South China Sea to undermine the sovereign rights of US partners in the region.
The commerce department report said that CNOOC, "has repeatedly harassed and threatened offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction in the South China Sea, with the goal of driving up the political risk for interested foreign partners, including Vietnam."
The Entity List is a tool utilised by the BIS to restrict the export, re-export, and transfer (in-country) of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to persons (individuals, organizations, companies) reasonably believed to be involved, or to pose a significant risk of becoming involved, in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. Additional license requirements apply to exports, re-exports, and transfers (in-country) of items subject to the EAR to listed entities, and the availability of most license exceptions is limited.
