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Philippines in Talks With China for Joint Sea Exploration

Philippines in Talks With China for Joint Sea Exploration
Shutterstock/The Jakarta Post File | An oil rig in the middle of South China Sea

The Philippines and China are in talks to jointly pursue oil and gas exploration in disputed waters of the South China Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Friday.

“I can tell you we are pursuing it aggressively because we need it,” Cayetano told reporters. The Philippines will finalize within three months a legal framework that will allow for joint exploration, he said.

West Philippine Sea. Image: AP File Photo/Sunstar.com.ph
West Philippine Sea. Image: AP File Photo/Sunstar.com.ph

Philippine and Chinese officials met in Manila this week to discuss joint initiatives as the two nations seek to look past contentious maritime issues. China claims almost all of the South China Sea, while the Philippines in 2016 won an international tribunal ruling that rejected China’s assertion to the territory. 

Manila’s ambassador to Beijing, Chito Sta. Romana, on Feb. 15 said a group studying the possibility of a joint exploration may come out with its findings as early as this year. 

Cayetano said the government is committed to exploring for new sources of energy as the Malampaya gas field, which supplies several Philippine power plants, will eventually run out of supply.


Source : Bloomberg

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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