Mongolia apologises after China raises security concerns about protesters at oil camp

A senior Mongolian official has apologised after the Chinese embassy raised concern that Mongolians were “harassing the camp” of a Chinese-invested oil exploration company on Friday.

According to Mongolian media, protesters went to the Kherlen Tohoi XXVIII oil exploration area on August 14, attempted to halt exploration work by Mongolia Foison Energy and conducted a social media live stream.

Social media footage shows two women dumping items belonging to Chinese workers onto the ground.

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Two Mongolian citizens involved in the incident have been detained, according to local authorities.

China’s chargé d’affaires Cao Li raised “serious concern” over the incident with B. Dashpurev, state secretary of Mongolia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, during a meeting on Tuesday, according to the embassy.

“We urge the Mongolian side to continue taking concrete measures to protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and the personal and property safety of Chinese employees, and prevent similar incidents from happening again,” the embassy said in a statement.

According to the statement, Dashpurev apologised over the incident and said Mongolia would not tolerate interference with the lawful operations of Chinese companies.

Dashpurev described such acts as damaging to Mongolia’s national interests and economic security, adding that police had opened an investigation and that those involved had been detained, it said.