The Spratly Islands Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Spratly Islands - Essay Example Some of the island claims overlap and have led to international tensions over the right to claim some of the world's largest oil reserves and expand their territorial fishing rights. Powerful nations in the area that have a growing need for energy pose a serious threat for future disputes, but recent agreements have eased the tensions to a degree and offer some hope of a model of economic cooperation. . Claims to the islands in the archipelago largely rest on the claimant's ability to establish a historical record of being there first, their geographical proximity, or a record of diplomatic agreements. China, Japan, France, and Vietnam all made claims to, and inhabited, the islands sporadically before and during the first half of the 20th century. China's claim to the islands dates back 2nd century BC Han dynasty, and in 1933 the Chinese made a formal public declaration of claim to the islands and stated that the islands "are inhabited only by Chinese fishermen, and are internationally recognized as Chinese territories".1 The Japanese used the Spratly Islands as a staging point for their assault on the Philippines during World War II, but the action drew little attention from the British who considered the islands terra nullius, a non-legally binding concept that argues uninhabited islands are open to settlement.2 Vietnam's claims date back to the 17th century and are bolstered by an 1884 treaty that claims the French administered the islands while they were a protectorate of France.3 Vietnam has recently contended that they have continuously occupied the islands since the 1600s and have "exercised effectively, continuously and peacefully its sovereignty" over the Spratly islands as well as the neighbouring Paracel Islands.4 Historians have largely disputed the legitimacy of the claims made by Vietnam and since World War II the islands have become the centre of an international debate involving China, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Since World War II the Spratly Islands have gained significant strategic importance for their location amid a rapidly developing area, as well as for the economic value of their natural resources. Ownership of the islands gives the owner internationally recognized fishing rights in an area that is rich in fish and seafood. The discovery of some of the richest gas and oilfields in the world has sparked an intense competition for ownership. The islands lie in the middle of several nations that have a growing need for oil that is mostly currently imported from the Middle East and Africa. In addition, the islands lie in the middle of the shipping lanes that include the Strait of Malacca, which serves the expanding Asia-Pacific economic region, and is the second busiest sea-lane in the world5. It is estimated that over half the world's supertanker traffic and "half of the world's merchant fleet (by tonnage) sails through the South China Sea every year".6 This gives the owners of the islan ds geo-political strength as well as control of the resources in the area surrounding the islands. The island's strategic location and the ability to disrupt trade have given the Spratly Islands an increased military importance in light of the world's growing need for oil. The most recent decades have seen open hostilities as nations have worked to build a spirit of

Chorley Fabrics Ltd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Chorley Fabrics Ltd - Essay Example The amount of units to produce was acquired by taking the values of the availability of resources (from another table) and the usage of resources per product. This was divided into the former to get a quotient: the maximum use of resources. Both Stevenson (2005)1 and Middleton (2006)2 explain how to use Excel in this fashion via the Solver tool. After this, the amount of units produced was multiplied by the profit per unit to obtain the value for total profit. X1, X2, X8, X9 and X10 are the profit bringers, and thus they should be placed on the schedule in order of profit received, starting from the highest: X2, X8, S9, X1 and X10. The others, as there is little profit from them, should be moved to the bottom of the list. X4 can likely be eliminated altogether. From this, using the SUMPRODUCT formula, which adds the sums of products of corresponding arrays, it can then be determined how much of each resource is used per week. For example, X1 can have 15 units produced, at a cost of 1.8 units in M/C 1. Unit 2 can have have 28 units, at a cost of 1.2 in M/C 2, and so on down the list. All these values are added up to get the total usage of resources. Alternatively, all values in the row corresponding to each product can be added to get the total cost per unit. Resource Usage Available M/C 1 369.75 400 M/C 2 206.75 250 M/C 3 280.00 280 M/C 4 212.82 270 M/C 5 324.00 340 Mat 1 600.00 600 Mat 2 780.00 780 Labour 182.80 229 This table denotes the usage of all resources, based upon the values gained from the procedure described above. Going by this, it can be seen that M/C 3 and both raw materials are used to optimum efficiency. There is no surplus or deficit. M/C 2 and M/C 4, hwever, are lacking; there is a a period of 44.3 hours left over for 2, and a period of 57.2 hours for 4. M/C 1, 3, and 5 are used efficiently; there is little available time left for them. 5. Marginal Benefits Resource Final Value Marginal Benefits Constraint R.H. Side Allowable Increase Allowable Decrease M/C 1 Usage 369.75 0.00 400 1E+30 30.24822533 M/C 2 Usage 206.84 0.00 250 1E+30 43.15699565 M/C 3 Usage 280.00 7.93 280 7.303252788 14.80479303 M/C 4 Usage 212.84 0.00 270 1E+30 57.15903366 M/C 5 Usage 322.01 0.00 340 1E+30 17.99473323 Mat 1 Usage 600.00 13.98 600 65.70689655 61.87637795 Mat 2