Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking JMSU

Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking

The Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) is tripartite agreement policy between China NationalOffshore Oil Corporation, Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation and Philippine National Oil Company to explore certain areas in the South China Sea. The agreement spurred a lot of controversies and put the relations of the Philippines with other neighboring countries in conflict.

Contents  [hide]  1 Background 2 Controversies 3 See Also 4 Reference 5 Citation

Background

The South China Sea is one of the largest sea bodies in the world. Encompassing an area of around 3,500,000 km2. There are several islands located here, many of which are subject to several competingclaims of sovereignty by neighboring countries. This is due to the sea's richness in natural resources such as oil and natural gas. The disputes between neighboring countries still exist to this date, especially, on the islands of Spratly. The first agreement was signed between Philippines and China on September 1, 2004 and the second agreement between the two countries and Vietnam on March 14, 2005. The countries aim to conduct research on their petroleum resource potential as a pre-exploration activity. Seismic comes from the word seismology which is the most reliable method for finding oil through the use of shockwaves. Seismologists can determine what rocks are underground and can predict if they might contain oil.

Controversies

After the signing of the agreement, major reports of disagreements between political parties began occurring. Some say that the Philippine Government undermine its politcal relations within the Association South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) and its own legal claims to islands, waters and continental shelf in the South China Sea. Others believed that the agreement was unconstitutional and void. Some say it was a sellout on the part of the Philippines.

• In signing the JMSU agreement, critics said the Philippine Government undermine its relation with otherAsian countries. IN 2002, members of the ASEAN and China signed 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties. The agreement's aim is to promote a peaceful, friendly and harmonious environment in the South China Sea. The JMSU now became a bilateral deal straying away from the united front that ASEAN had formed a successful deal with China.
• Philippine lawyers and political analysts said that the JMSU is unconstitutional as it violated the National Economy Patrimony provisions of the 1987 Constitution. According to them, the Philippines has sovereign control over Spratly and all of its natural resources are owned by the state. The Philippine Consititution states that any joint venture agreement must be with corporations 60 percent of which capital are Filipino owned. The PNOC and CNOOC are both 100 percent foreign owned, therefore, in violation with the constitution. Others believed that JMSU agreement may imperil Philippine quest for oil self-reliance.

See Also

• ZTE
• ASEAN
• Spratly Islands

Reference

• Stirrings over Spratlys PCIJ (accessed on May 9, 2008)
• GMA planning visit to Kalayaan Islands Manila Times (accessed on May 9, 2008)
• DECLARATION ON THE CONDUCT OF PARTIES IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA Aseansec (accessed on May 9, 2008)
• Info South China Sea (accessed on May 9, 2008)
• The South China Sea Dispute (accessed on May 9, 2008)
• Spratlys Agreement Unconstitutional: Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking Is Void Bulatlat.com (accessed on May 9, 2008)
• Spratlys controversy may imperil Philippine quest for oil self-reliance Manila Times (accessed on May 9, 2008)
• The Philippines' Spratly bungle UPASIAONLINE (accessed on May 9, 2008)
• RP-CHINA AGREEMENT ON JOINT MARINE SEISMIC UNDERTAKING IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA CONSTITUTIONAL – ROMULO DFA (accessed on May 9, 2008)
• in last minute scramble to beat UN deadline on territorial claim GMANEWS.tv (accessed on May 9, 2008)