Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island
Andrew S. Erickson, Jason Wang, Pei-Jhen Wu, Marvin Bernardo, “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island,” Jamestown China Brief (2 September 2025); 25.16 (6 September 2025): 18–29.
Research featured in:
- Helen Davidson, “China Drilling for Oil and Gas inside Taiwan’s Exclusive Economic Zone,” The Guardian, 2 September 2025.
- Helen Davidson, “Taiwan Accuses China of Breaching International Law over Drilling,” The Guardian, 4 September 2025.
Executive Summary:
- Beijing’s relentless pressure on Taiwan now includes oil rigs: twelve permanent or semi-permanent structures and dozens of associated ships. The structures, which are owned by state-owned firm CNOOC, include seven rig structures, three floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, and two semi-submersible oil platforms. All are located within Taiwan’s claimed exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas/Dongsha Island.
- Intruding rigs that exploit natural resources without permission typify maritime gray zone operations conducted by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). They are designed to advance territorial claims, establish creeping jurisdictional presence in contested spaces, and shape the operational environment in Beijing’s favor without open conflict—often under the guise of commercial activity.
- CNOOC’s structures could facilitate a full range of coercion, blockade, bombardment, and/or invasion scenarios against Pratas or Taiwan more generally, particularly by enhancing end-to-end “kill chain” (C5ISRT) capabilities if outfitted with sensors.
- Starting in July, CNOOC maneuvered the semi-submersible rig NanHaiErHao deep into Taiwan’s claimed EEZ. It is now only around 30 miles from Pratas’s restricted waters, although CNOOC rigs previously have come as close as 770 yards.
- By operating rigs in a neighbor’s claimed EEZ, Beijing already has succeeded with Taiwan where it failed repeatedly with Vietnam. Persistent Vietnamese protest made the difference on those previous occasions. Failure to protest today risks normalizing sovereignty shaving and encourages further encroachment.
Figure 1: Location of Permanent Structures in Taiwan’s Claimed EEZ
(Source: ingeniSPACE, Starboard Maritime Intelligence)
Figure 3: Movement of NanHaiErHao Oil Rig From July 17–24, 2025
(Source: ingeniSPACE, Starboard Maritime Intelligence)
Figure 6: Ranges for Hypothetical YJ-12 Anti-Ship Missile Batteries Stationed on Structures in Taiwan’s Claimed EEZ
(Source: ingeniSPACE)
