‘Co-ownership of West Philippine Sea a surrender to China’

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte’s equating joint exploration in the West Philippine Sea with “co-ownership” of resources is a sellout to China, leftist party-list group Bayan Muna said yesterday.

“It can be interpreted not only as a sellout but as total surrender of our national territory to the Chinese,” Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said.

“It sends a dangerously wrong message that the Duterte administration disregards our hard won victory at the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea,” he said

Zarate recalled that on July 12, 2016, the tribunal, in a 501-page award, decided in favor of the Philippines and declared that China does not have historic rights to the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea, and that its “nine-dash line” claim had no legal basis. Beijing vowed not to comply with the ruling issued by Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague.

Zarate said Duterte’s co-ownership statement “is reversing our country’s historic victory at the international tribunal and he is now giving the West Philippine Sea to China on a silver platter.” 

“Justifying the arrangement with China as co-ownership can even be construed as capitulation to China’s militarization program in the area,” he said.

He said the Chinese became aggressive in the disputed territories after they completed a joint marine seismic research during the Arroyo administration.

China saw the resources those areas hold and have since militarized them, he added.

In Marawi City on Wednesday, Duterte said China has offered joint exploration in some of the disputed islets and features in the West Philippine Sea.

It’s like co-ownership and it’s better than fighting the Chinese, he said.

Zarate said some of the contested sea features clearly belong to the Philippines, as they are within the country’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“Recto Bank or Reed Bank, for instance, which is not far from Palawan and which is reportedly rich in natural gas and oil, is within our EEZ. It should be ours. The President should not declare it as co-owned by China,” he said.

In fact, Zarate said previous administrations had awarded contracts to Filipino companies to explore for natural gas in Recto Bank. 

He added the Duterte government should resume exploration in that area even if China opposes it. 

Zarate pointed out the country was considering sourcing natural gas from Recto Bank as the nearby Malampaya gas is drying up.

For his part, Rep. Antonio Tinio of Alliance of Concerned Teachers said the President’s co-ownership statement “indicates that Duterte is prepared to give away our national patrimony in the West Philippine Sea…and to throw the favorable international court ruling in the gutter.”

“He has thoroughly exposed himself as the principal agent of Chinese economic, political, and military expansion in the Philippines,” he said.

Former national security adviser and Parañaque representative Roilo Golez urged Malacañang to clarify Duterte’s pronouncement of “co-ownership” with Beijing.

“This thing needs immediate Palace clarification. If not, it might affect our legal position. Those kind of statements can be used against our own legal position because in tends to show that we are acknowledging China’s ownership of whatever percentage there is in our very West Philippine Sea. I am just hoping the President was simply misquoted,” Golez said.

He said the international arbitral ruling is clear that not a single square inch in the West Philippine Sea is owned by China.

Golez pointed out the international tribunal ruling in favor of the Philippines has become part of an international law that must be respected and adhered to.

An agreement

But Malacañang said a joint exploration is only an agreement like “between two corporate entities.”

“We are not entering into a sovereign agreement for exploration. It will be an agreement, if we do, between two corporate entities,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

Roque cited as precedent the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) entered into by the Philippines and China during the Arroyo administration.

Roque stressed that allowing a private firm to start joint exploration with a Chinese group anytime soon under the present administration would not be tantamount to surrendering the country’s sovereign rights over areas clearly within Philippine territory.

“This is now a result of that Joint Seismic Maritime Exploration Agreement. This will now actually entail joint exploration and possible exploitation of natural resources,” Roque said.

“ So we’ve gone beyond determining if there are resources, they’re convinced there are resources – the only issue now is, is it commercially viable. That’s good news,” he added.

The JMSU is a tripartite agreement between the Philippines, China and Vietnam to conduct seismic exploration in an area spanning 142,886 square meters west of Palawan.

Legal luminaries have argued the 1987 Constitution explicitly provides that the state shall have full control and supervision over the exploration, development and utilization of the country’s natural resources, including marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial seat and exclusive economic zone. The use and enjoyment of the resources are exclusive to Filipino citizens.

They also pointed out that the government could allow services or the contract of services of corporations wholly or 60 percent owned by Filipinos.

The Philippines suspended exploration in the Reed Bank in 2014 as it pursued international arbitration to challenge Beijing’s massive territorial claim.  – With  Christina Mendez