De Venecia proposes joint energy exploration in Spratlys with China, Vietnam

The Philippines' special envoy for intercultural dialogue Jose de Venecia proposed a three-way energy exploration effort at the disputed Spratly Islands between the Philippines, Vietnam and China.

De Venecia made the suggestion in Beijing on Sunday at the Belt and Road Forum, an international summit on China's ambitious new Silk Road plan.

"(I)t is most desirable if we, among ourselves, discard occasional enmity and exaggerated pride, and if we respond to the Sermon on the Mount and the hallowed spirit of China's storied Silk Road, we could all together embark on a journey that today could lead towards the dream of a thousand years of peace and prosperity for all our nations and for all our peoples," he said.

De Venecia added that such an effort had the added benefit of promoteing peace.

"Scientists of the three nations pronounced the prospects 'promising,' and it is obvious as members of the ASEAN family that today, with China, we must find ways and means to jointly develop the area's hydrocarbons potential to help lessen our common dependence on distant petroleum sources in the Middle East," he said.

"And look at the potential for peace, for economic development in the heartland of the South China Sea, once rid of conflict, a landscape and seascape of small seaports, airports, oil pipelines, small tourism townships, and fishing villages, can rapidly rise in the contested areas..." he added.

China and the Philippines will start bilateral consultations on the disputed South China Sea this week, the Philippine ambassador to Beijing said, as Manila looks to ease tensions with Asia's top economic power.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is visiting Beijing to attend the forum, has opted to court China for its business and investment and avoid the rows over sovereignty that dogged his predecessors.

Philippine ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana told reporters late on Saturday that the consultations between the two countries would take place in China.

He added that the dispute between the two countries "cannot be resolved overnight."

China has not publicly announced any such talks.

Duterte has been accused by critics of taking a defeatist position on China and on defending Philippine sovereignty. He considers his approach to be pragmatic and says challenging China risks triggering war.

Sta. Romana said Duterte's attendance at the Silk Road summit should not be seen as the Philippines abandoning or "giving up" its claim of sovereignty in the South China Sea.

The previous administration filed a case in 2013 with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on maritime boundaries. Last year, the tribunal invalidated China's claim to sovereignty over most of the South China Sea.

Duterte has put the ruling on the back burner and said he will revisit it later in his term.

China claims most of the energy-rich South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.

Duterte visited China last October after bilateral relations had soured over the South China Sea under the previous Philippine administration of Benigno Aquino.

The detente has seen China commit to three infrastructure projects and pledge to donate two bridges, said Sta. Romana, without giving an investment figure.

China has also eased import curbs on Philippine bananas, he said.

"If you go around Beijing right now and you go to the market, you will see ... Philippine bananas. The Chinese are eating Philippine bananas again and Philippine pineapples," he said.

"They have promised to buy over $1 billion worth of tropical fruits from the Philippines and they are interested in buying more." — Reuters/with a report by Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/DVM, GMA News