Dear Mr. President, please do not listen to JDV on his proposal for China to explore natural resources in our exclusive economic zone.
Imagine offering China to conduct exploration of natural resources in our West Philippine Sea, our exclusive economic zone when the same is prohibited by the Philippine Constitution (Article XII, Section 2): "The State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens."
Imagine offering China to conduct exploration of natural resources in our West Philippine Sea, our exclusive economic zone when the same is prohibited by the Philippine Constitution (Article XII, Section 2): "The State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens."
Repeat, "reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens."
Moreover, how can we have a joint venture with an entity that brings on the table guns and warships. How would we settle a dispute, for example, which is always very likely in a business venture. How do we ask them to leave Recto Bank, as an example, should we discover we are getting a raw deal, with their warships and unsinkable aircraft carriers (Mischief Reef, Fiery Cross Reef and Subi Reef all with 3 kilometer runways for their fighter squadrons) in the vicinity? This JDV proposal is plain one sided for China.
Duterte on joint exploration in Spratlys: Teka muna, hindi ba ko malugi?
GMA News
President Rodrigo Duterte has yet to sign off completely on the joint exploration of the Spratly Islands that his new special envoy for intercultural dialogue proposed at the recent Belt and Road Forum in China.
Asked whether Jose De Venecia cleared with him the suggestion that China, Vietnam and the Philippines undertake joint exploration of the disputed islands in the South China Sea, Duterte said,"That is the proposal during Arroyo's time."
Duterte was referring to the term of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
De Venecia was the Speaker of the House of Representatives at that time and was a prime mover of the joint exploration initiatives.
"Let us see the wherwithals," Duterte said when pressed at a news conference at the Davao City airport, on whether he approved of the proposal.
"Teka muna. Hindi ba ko malugi? It has to be fair and it has to be balanced. If we can get something without hassle at all, so why not?" he added.
De Venecia made the suggestion in Beijing on Sunday at the Belt and Road Forum, an international summit on China's ambitious new Silk Road plan.
"(I)t is most desirable if we, among ourselves, discard occasional enmity and exaggerated pride, and if we respond to the Sermon on the Mount and the hallowed spirit of China's storied Silk Road, we could all together embark on a journey that today could lead towards the dream of a thousand years of peace and prosperity for all our nations and for all our peoples," he said.
De Venecia added that such an effort had the added benefit of promoting peace.
"Scientists of the three nations pronounced the prospects 'promising,' and it is obvious as members of the ASEAN family that today, with China, we must find ways and means to jointly develop the area's hydrocarbons potential to help lessen our common dependence on distant petroleum sources in the Middle East," he said.
"And look at the potential for peace, for economic development in the heartland of the South China Sea, once rid of conflict, a landscape and seascape of small seaports, airports, oil pipelines, small tourism townships, and fishing villages, can rapidly rise in the contested areas..." he added.
China and the Philippines will start bilateral consultations on the disputed South China Sea this week, the Philippine ambassador to Beijing said, as Manila looks to ease tensions with Asia's top economic power.
Meanwhile, Duterte was also definite that there would eventually be a South China Sea-Code of Conduct.
"There will be a code of conduct. I will not speculate... on the dimensions of the agreement. It has to be worked out," explained the president.
The ASEAN and China are negotiating on the South China Sea Code of Conduct, with a meeting planned later this month in Guiyang, China. — NB, GMA News
- See more at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/610908/duterte-on-joint-exploration-in-spratlys-teka-muna-hindi-ba-ko-malugi/story/#sthash.RoZ0i5RF.dpuf
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