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MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government’s lifting of the moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the resource-rich Western Philippine Sea is an exercise of the country’s sovereign rights over disputed territory, it said Monday. the Secretary of Energy, Alfonso Cusi.
In a televised press conference in the Palace, Cusi said that lifting the ban does not weaken the country’s position in the maritime dispute.
“This lifting of the moratorium is an exercise of our sovereign rights. Ginagawa na po natin iyan, so there is no way I will weaken the refereeing decision, ”Cusi said.
President Duterte last week lifted the moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the Western Philippine Sea that was imposed by the previous administration in 2014 amid mounting geopolitical tensions between the Philippines and China.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts of the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone
An international court in The Hague ruled in 2016 that it invalidated China’s ambitious nine-line line that holds virtually the entire body of water. However, China has refused to acknowledge the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
Meanwhile, Duterte has decided to archive the PCA ruling in exchange for Chinese financial benefits to help fund his administration’s infrastructure projects. Ironically, the president described the PCA’s ruling during this year’s United Nations General Assembly as “beyond all compromise.”
Duterte’s turn to China enabled the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Manila and Beijing for a joint oil and gas exploration agreement in the Western Philippine Sea.
But Cusi said the memorandum of understanding did not weaken the country’s position in the dispute either.
Duterte spokesman Harry Roque also defended the agreement, saying: “Although sovereign rights are defined as an exclusive right, that exclusive right can be shared by others. The decision to share it is part of sovereign rights ”.
The energy secretary said discussions between the Philippines and China on a possible joint oil deal are ongoing, although it recently ran into a snag due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We actually had meetings at the end of last year, so their promotion was delayed due to the pandemic,” Cusi said.
EDV
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