NOY WANTS SPRATLYS CODE OF CONDUCT REVIEWED / SEISMIC PROJECTS ON HOLD
MANILA, MAY 23, 2011 (STAR) By Delon Porcalla - The Code of Conduct among claimant-countries in the disputed Spratly Islands must be reviewed so that jurisdictional matters will be defined clearly, and the Philippines will raise this with the Chinese government, President Aquino said yesterday.
In a chance interview at the SMX Mall of Asia where he was guest speaker at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine graduation, Aquino said the issue will be raised when he meets with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie at Malacañang today.
The Code, which includes China, was approved in 2002.
"We have been suggesting this for so long, if we could study the Code of Conduct. It would be best for us to talk to avoid incidents such as what happened recently," Aquino said, referring to the purported Chinese jets that entered Philippine airspace last week.
"Of course in the interest of maintaining good bilateral relations, we will relay to them our sentiments," he said, adding that the rationale behind this is to lessen incidents of intrusion and avoid conflicts.
Likewise, he hinted the reported sighting of Chinese jets might not result in a diplomatic protest since Philippine authorities could not clearly establish if these were really Chinese aircraft.
It was different in the case of the Philippine Coast Guard vessel that had an incident with a seismic ship, mainly because the Chinese government "acknowledged" that the vessel was theirs in the first place.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, meanwhile, said the Philippine government should reiterate its stand that the Reed Bank in western Palawan is part of the country's territory and invoke its rights over it under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Enrile said that Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin should make sure he will be able to stress this position during the meeting with the Chinese defense minister.
"(The Philippine government) should tell them that they should not enter within our airspace," Enrile said.
"The Reed Bank is within the 200-(nautical) mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. Why are they entering our territory when they (Chinese) should be adhering to international laws?" Enrile added.
Enrile lamented that the country is seemingly unable to defend its territories against alleged Chinese intrusion because its defense department lacks strength.
Enrile said the government can very well use the help of its allies, including the United States, but stressed that the country should be able to show that it can help itself.
Despite the Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States, Enrile said that it is unlikely US forces will lead a war in behalf of Philippine sovereignty. However, Enrile said the Philippine government can ask for US help in terms of enforcing the UNCLOS which the United States recognizes, although reportedly they have not ratified the same.
UNCLOS, also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world's oceans and establishes guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources. To date, 161 countries and the European Community have joined the Convention.
Enrile said the Aquino administration should ensure that boosting the AFP's capability should be among its priority programs.
The Senate President also took a dig at former President Fidel Ramos, who reportedly neglected strengthening the Armed Forces since moves to modernize the military failed during his time.
Phl shelves seismic project in Spratlys By Donnabelle Gatdula (The Philippine Star) Updated May 23, 2011 12:00 AMComments (10)
MANILA, Philippines - The government has put on hold plans to conduct a seismic undertaking in the Kalayaan Islands in the Spratlys, a top energy official said over the weekend.
Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said they decided to put the proposed program in the back burner pending resolution of some issues.
"As far as the DOE (Department of Energy) is concerned... it has been put on hold. We do not want to move without the go signal from the foreign affairs department," he said.
Almendras said "it's better to ask the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) on this matter. The DFA group has the most appropriate answer on this."
He also said the Philippines has talked with the government of Vietnam on a possible cooperation agreement similar to the joint marine seismic undertaking (JMSU).
The JMSU, which was signed in March 2005 by the Philippines and China, called for the two countries' joint exploration of petroleum resource potential in the South China Sea. When Vietnam, a claimant of portions of the Spratlys, protested, it was included in the agreement. The JMSU was not renewed after it lapsed in July 2008.
"There was a good development in ASEAN: we're all going to work together to try to resolve some problems common to all of us, particularly fuel and food supply. There have been discussions. It's a common problem. ASEAN will discuss it further. The foreign affairs ministers will discuss, and the Department of Foreign Affairs is in the best position to discuss these issues," Almendras said.
Since late 2009 the DOE has reportedly been in the process of selecting international contractors to conduct seismic acquisition program for the Reed Bank Basin, including the Kalayaan Islands.
Earlier released data from the DOE showed a shortlist of four international contractors for the 2D seismic survey.
The shortlist includes PGS Asia Pacific (Singapore) through its representative Nick Newham, CGG Veritas (Singapore) through Dominic Boitier, Fugro Geo Team AS of Norway through Armat Jani Girsang, and Geraldine Geo Survey Lt. of the United Kingdom represented by Cliff Whatrup.
Sources at the DOE earlier revealed this was merely data gathering that would allow the Philippine government to identify potential reserves in these areas.
The DOE noted that the program, with a cost of P75 million, was specifically utilized for the so-called Philippine National Continental Shelf Delimitation Project.
"The provision of services to acquire and process new 2D seismic data, gravity and magnetic data in the Reed Bank and Kalayaan Island Group is for the Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) Project submission to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas," the document said.
The DOE sources, however, declined to elaborate on project details as this may result in another controversy on the disputed territory.
The Reed Bank basin is about 71,000 sq. km. in area and located about 250 kms west of Palawan.
The DOE earlier estimated total resources in the basin at 440 million barrels of oil.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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