China reiterates call for restraint to north & South Sudan on oil dispute

January 21, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The Chinese government on Saturday again called on the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to exercise restraint following Juba’s decision to suspend oil production in retaliation to Khartoum’s confiscation of part of the crude as a payment in kind.

Sudan justified its move by saying that it will not wait indefinitely for a resolution out of the talks with its southern neighbour on fees that should be assessed for using the north oil refineries and infrastructure.

China has the biggest stake in South Sudan’s oil with figures showing that it imported 5% of its crude needs from the country’s oilfields, which became independent last July.

“Oil is the economic lifeline shared by Sudan and South Sudan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin said in response to a question on South Sudan’s decision.

“We urge the two sides to remain calm and restrained, avoid taking any extreme action and continue working together with mediation by the African Union and other parties to resolve their dispute.”

“The Chinese side hopes that the two governments will fulfill their commitment to protecting the legal rights of Chinese enterprises and those of other partners,” Liu said.

In Khartoum the Chinese ambassador Luo Xiaoguang said they have not formally been informed of South Sudan’s decision.

The two countries have been negotiating under the auspices of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) chaired by former South African president Thabo Mbeki. So far the talks have yielded no results as all tabled proposals were rejected.

The latest compromise suggested by AUHIP this week was for Khartoum to be granted 25,000 barrels of oil per day over the next three months that would be deducted from any final arrangements agreed to in the future.

This round of negotiations that kicked off in Addis Ababa hit a snag after South Sudan reportedly demanded that its northern neighbour pays an equivalent of 1.4 million barrels of oil to resume talks.

It is now likely that the talks on oil will be adjourned as the African Union (AU) summit date is approaching. Kenya said that Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir has agreed to meet his southern counterpart Salva Kiir on its sidelines.

Qutbi al-Mahdi, a senior official in the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in Khartoum, said that Juba’s decision demonstrates “immaturity” and defended his government decision to confiscate the oil saying it is an international norm.

The NCP official accused certain elements in South Sudan government of seeking to stir trouble in order to serve a “vicious” agenda but projected the wise men of the South will intervene to change course.

(ST)