China to still push for joint exploration with PH despite court ruling vs. JMSU

The Chinese government will still push for joint oil exploration in the disputed South China Sea with the Philippines despite a Supreme Court decision declaring a 2005 pact by Manila, China and Vietnam unconstitutional.

On Tuesday, 12 of the 15 Philippine justices voided the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) agreement by the national oil companies of three countries, which are among other Asian states embroiled in long-running territorial disputes in the resource-rich waters.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called the 2005 tripartite deal "an important step by the three countries" and "a useful experiment for maritime cooperation between parties to the South China Sea."

"It played an important role in promoting stability, cooperation and development in the region," Wang said.

The latest decision by the Philippine Supreme Court will bring other proposed agreements that the Philippines will enter into on oil exploration under close scrutiny, including one that is being considered by the current Marcos administration with China.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said the 2005 pact, signed under then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, violated the Constitution for allowing wholly-owned foreign corporations to explore the country’s natural resources.

The JMSU covers 142,886 square kilometers of the South China Sea, including areas within Philippine waters.

Under the Constitution, "[T]he exploration, development and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the state."

The court said the JMSU is clearly intended  to conduct exploration as it is meant to discover oil.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has expressed willingness to revive an exploration agreement with China that was terminated by his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, in a meeting with counterpart Xi Jinping in China last week.

"China remains committed to properly handle maritime disputes in the South China Sea with countries directly concerned, including the Philippines, through dialogue and consultation, and to actively explore ways for practical maritime cooperation including joint exploration," Wang said in a briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.

The Chinese official said that in Marcos' recent state visit to China, "the two sides agreed to bear in mind the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Oil and Gas Development signed in 2018 and resume discussions on oil and gas development at an early date."

Since the signing of the MOU in 2018, Philippine and Chinese negotiators have failed to resolve the issue of which country has sovereignty over the Recto Bank, internationally known as Reed Bank, where a joint exploration and development has been proposed.

Neither side wanted to relinquish sovereignty rights over the contested area, hampering years of negotiations between Duterte's administration and the Chinese government.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands delivered a sweeping victory to the Philippines on the case it filed against China in 2013 and invalidated China's massive and historical claim over the South China Sea. —KBK, GMA Integrated News