DFA: Joint West Philippine Sea exploration should be guided by Constitution

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday reiterated that discussions on joint oil and gas exploration in the West Philippine Sea should fall within the limits of the Philippine Constitution.

“We are open to talks with any country which might contribute to our economic development. Negotiation with any country should be guided by the Constitution of the Philippines,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said during a forum on international relations titled “Moving Forward: The US-Philippines Alliance Under the New Administration” at the US embassy in Manila.

Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said on Tuesday that China hopes to find “some way out” to resolve the differences with the Philippines and begin the joint oil and gas exploration in the West Philippine Sea as early as possible.

In June, then foreign secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. announced that the Philippines had terminated completely the discussions over joint energy exploration between Manila and Beijing.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte ordered the termination of discussions due to constitutional constraints and concerns about Philippine sovereignty.

The DFA confirmed last month “initial and general discussions” on possible joint oil and gas exploration between the Philippines and China, but the two countries have not gone beyond initial talks.

The joint exploration was discussed during the visits of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and International Department Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Minister Liu Jianchao in July and August.

Former DFA secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines should proceed to explore and develop the oil and gas in the West Philippine Sea, similar to the action of its neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia who were able to assert their sovereign rights over their waters and completed drilling even without the benefit of an arbitral award and defense treaty.

Del Rosario said the 2016 award under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea categorically held that “under international law, the West Philippine Sea, including Reed Bank, exclusively belongs to Filipinos and no one else.”

Calling the Philippines an “irreplaceable” ally, the United States’ top diplomat in the country expanded yesterday on Washington’s “ironclad” commitments to the Philippines.

Although the Philippines is the US’s oldest ally in East Asia, Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said “our 71-year-old alliance now has a new energy and revived confidence.” – Sheila Crisostomo