PNoy: RP WILLING TO SHARE SPRATLY
BOUNTY / RP TO DRILL AT CHINA-CLAIMED REEF NEXT YEAR
MANILA,
MAY 18, 2012
(INQUIRER) By Norman Bordadora -
President Benigno Aquino III is willing to share with other countries in
the region the benefits of the natural gas deposits in the disputed territories
in the West Philippine Sea. But he said he will not be a party to the ceding of
portions of the Philippine archipelago to a foreign power like China.
Speaking before a general assembly of alumni of US universities late
Wednesday, Aquino said the Philippine government continues to talk with the
Chinese for a mutually beneficial solution to their standoff over the Panatag
(Scarborough) Shoal as well as other disputed territories in the area.
"I am not empowered to give up any of our territory," the President said in
answer to a suggestion that "a win-win solution" might be for the two countries
to split the $35 trillion worth of natural gas that another disputed territory,
the Recto Bank, is believed to hold.
The Recto Bank (international name: Reed Bank), which lies within the
Philippines' 200 nautical-mile (370 kilometers) economic zone, is located abut
150 km east of the Spratly chain of islets, which is claimed in whole or in part
by Brunei, Malaysia,
Taiwan and Vietnam, as well as the Philippines and China.
The Recto Bank, which is said to have oil and gas deposits that reach deep
into the Cuyo Islands in Palawan, has been the subject of numerous exploration
campaigns by the Philippines in the past.
The Philippines last year filed a diplomatic protest against China after two
Chinese ships reportedly harassed a vessel that had been contracted by the
government to undertake oil exploration activities in the bank.
Aquino acknowledged that the huge benefits from the resources in the disputed
territories could free the region from dependence on fossil fuel from Middle
Eastern and North African countries.
"If we are able to exploit these resources, that redounds to benefits for the
entire region," he said.
He said the parties to the dispute "should work towards easing the problems
and the concerns of our respective peoples in the here and now and not in some
future date where, you know, it is not a fair solution."
"If it's clear that we have a 200-mile economic zone, exclusive economic
zone, designated by the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Seas, and
both of us are parties to it, is it too much to ask that our rights are
respected by our neighbors in the same token that we respect their rights?" he
said.
The President said the Philippines doesn't have to be "the sole winner of
exploitation of resources" in the disputed areas. He said the country has always
been a good neighbor to other countries in the Asia Pacific.
However, it has to draw the line when it should look after its rightful
interests, he said.
"Recto Bank is 80 miles from us. There are areas that are even closer… So if
we keep on subtracting about 30 percent—and not to be flippant about it—if you
don't draw the line somewhere, will we be having claims against us on the Pasig
River or other rivers?" he added.
He stressed that the Philippines was resolved on a peaceful and diplomatic
solution to the disputes with China, noting that it cannot afford to engage
Beijing militarily.
"So we are exploring ways and means to resolve the conflict. We keep on
reemphasizing that we are not for conflict. We do not want to present a threat
to them in any shape, manner or form, or whatsoever in terms of military
action," he said.
"If it were just a boxing match, they're 1.3 billion and we're 93 million. We
will not prevail. That is not the route and our Constitution actually prohibits
it," he said.
Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez said there is an upside to the tension between the
Philippines and China over the Panatag Shoal dispute.
He said the Philippines' refusal to bow down to China has united many
Filipinos against a common enemy and earned the country respect from other
groups and nations.
"This extended standoff, with the Philippines not buckling down against the
world's second most powerful country, is gaining for us international respect
and moral support," Golez said in a statement.
"It is a unifying and rallying force. Even Filipino groups outside the
country have mobilized themselves in support of our cause," he said.
It also shows the world that the Philippines has a strong and steadfast
foreign policy that does not crumble under economic pressure and veiled military
threats, Golez said. With Leila Salaverria
RP TO DRILL AT CHINA-CLAIMED REEF
[PHOTO OF MANNY PANGILINAN, PHILEX MINING COURTESY OF
ABS-CBN]
A PHILIPPINE oil firm said on Thursday it would start drilling next year at a
potentially massive natural gas field at a reef in the West Philippine Sea
(South China Sea).
The drilling of "two appraisal wells" at Reed Bank will be carried out by
August 2013, Philex Petroleum Chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.
"We need to do a lot before we know the amount of resources beneath those
waters," he told stockholders.
His comments came amid tensions with China over territorial disputes in the
West Philippine Sea, with Manila and Beijing locked in a standoff over the
Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.
Philex Petroleum said last month that the field at Reed Bank could hold 4.66
trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas, nearly twice as much as the Philippines'
largest-known deposits.
China claims almost all of the West Philippine Sea, including the Reed Bank,
which is about 148 kilometers off Palawan province and which the Philippines
claims as its territory.
Last year, the Philippines accused Chinese vessels of harassing an
exploration vessel off Reed Bank, and Manila has repeatedly accused China of
aggressive actions in disputed waters.
Pangilinan also said that he met with officials of China National Offshore
Oil Corp. (CNOOC) in Beijing recently to discuss their offer to jointly develop
the Reed Bank field.
But he added that other big companies had also approached Philex, saying that
his firm would need the help of a major oil company as a partner to develop the
Reed Bank.
"A gas field will need major expenditures and the help of international oil
firms that have the technical capability and financial resource," Pangilinan
said.
Asked if having CNOOC as a partner might assuage the Chinese, he replied,
"I'm assuming the political aspects would recede in the background."
However, Pangilinan would not speculate on what would happen if Philex chose
another partner.
"If gunboats appear on the horizon, there is nothing we can do," he said.
For over a month, Philippine and Chinese ships have been engaged in a
standoff to press their conflicting claims to the shoal, which is more than 400
km to the north of Reed Bank.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
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