The Philippines must find a way to explore for oil and gas in the South China Sea even without a deal with China, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said yesterday, emphasizing his country’s right to exploit energy reserves in the contested waterway, in which Taiwan has claims.
“That’s a big thing for us, that is why we need to fight [for what is ours] and take advantage if there really is oil there,” Marcos told reporters.
Talks over joint energy exploration between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea had been terminated, the previous government said in June, citing constitutional constraints and issues of sovereignty.
Photo: AFP
“That’s the roadblock, it is hard to see how we can resolve that. I think there might be other ways so it does not have to be G-to-G [government-to-government],” he said.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Marcos’ remarks came after his foreign affairs secretary said in August that Manila was open to new talks with China on oil and gas exploration, and that a deal with China or any other country must comply with Philippine law.
The Philippines relies heavily on imported fuel for its energy needs, making it vulnerable to supply shocks and rising oil prices, which have helped increase inflation to a near-14-year high.
During a three-day visit last week, US Vice President Kamala Harris affirmed US defense commitments to the Philippines and reiterated support for a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s South China Sea claims.
The ruling, which China refused to recognize, says that the Philippines has sovereign rights to exploit energy reserves inside its 322km exclusive economic zone.
“We will have something more concrete” to announce by early next year about US proposals to access Philippine military bases under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, Marcos said yesterday.
Washington has proposed adding more sites to the current five under the agreement, which allows for the rotation of US military ships and aircraft at mutually agreed bases.
Philippine firm PXP Energy Corp — which holds an exploration permit in the Reed Bank (Lile Bank, 禮樂灘), a disputed area that Taiwan also claims — has had talks with China National Offshore Oil Corp on a joint venture.
However, Manila’s and Beijing’s conflicting claims have prevented it from undertaking further drilling and reaching a deal.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Over a few hours under gray skies, dozens of combat planes and helicopters roar on and off the flight deck of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, in a demonstration of US military power in some of the world’s most hotly contested waters. MH-60 Seahawk helicopters and F/A-18 Hornet jets bearing pilot call signs such as “Fozzie Bear,” “Pig Sweat” and “Bongoo” emit deafening screams as they land in the drizzle on the Nimitz, which is leading a carrier strike group that entered the South China Sea two weeks ago. US Rear Admiral Christopher Sweeney, who is commanding the group, said the tour
A court in Thailand sentenced a 27-year-old political activist to 28 years in prison on Thursday for posting messages on Facebook that it said defamed the country’s monarchy, while two young women charged with the same offense continued a hunger strike after being hospitalized. The court in the northern province of Chiang Rai found that Mongkhon Thirakot contravened the lese majeste law in 14 of 27 posts for which he was arrested in August last year. The law covers the king, queen and heirs, and any regent. The lese majeste law carries a prison term of three to 15 years per incident for
RISING RISK: With no communication between nations flying jets closely over the South China Sea, one mistake by a pilot could quickly escalate a situation, an expert said The China Coast Guard (CCG) maintained near-daily patrols at key features across the disputed South China Sea last year, ramping up its presence as tensions over the waterway with Southeast Asian neighbors remain high, new tracking data shows. Patrols in the waters surrounding the Vanguard Bank off Vietnam, an area known for its oil and gas reserves and the site of repeated standoffs between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels, more than doubled to 310 days last year, the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said. The number of days Chinese ships patrolled near Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗) in the Spratly Islands (Nansha
INSTABILITY: The country has seen a 33 percent increase in land that cultivates poppies since the military took over the government in 2021, a UN report said The production of opium in Myanmar has flourished since the military’s seizure of power, with the cultivation of poppies up by one-third in the past year, as eradication efforts have dropped and the faltering economy has led more people toward the drug trade, a UN report released yesterday showed. Last year, the first full growing season since the military wrested control of the country from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, saw a 33 percent increase in Myanmar’s cultivation area to 40,100 hectares, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime report said. “Economic, security and governance disruptions
RSS