Golez: Why I strongly believe an oil exploration & drilling joint venture with China in the West Philippine Sea (Recto Bank) is against Philippine national interest and a threat to national security INQUIRER.netphilstar.com DZRH Aksyon ABS-CBN News ANC 24/7 MANILA BULLETINRappler
1. It will be a violation of the Philippine Constitution which states, Article XIi, Sec 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." A 50-50 joint venture is not allowed. It must be at least 60% Filipino. But knowing the practice, they will surely find a way to make the joint venture appear majority Filipino. So why allow it at the outset when there is a big possibility of cheating?
2. The most likely joint venture partner is the China National Offshore Oil Corporation or CNOOC, a giant state-owned entity which will technologically, politically, physically and financially dominate the Philippine partner. It will for sure bring in the infamous giant billion dollar oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 shown in photos here and will come escorted by big China Coast Guard ships for its "protection" and to bully the neighborhood. For sure, PLA Navy warships will also be in the vicinity especially with Mischief Reef ready to host warships and combat planes.
3. The state-owned CNOOC is indistinguishable from the the Chinese government. As earlier mentioned, it will operate backed up by Chinese coast guard and navy muscle, ready for action in case of a dispute. Should the oil rig be found violating the agreement and our laws, how can the Philippines enforce its rules and laws? In the Malampaya case, the Philippines is dealing with a private entity that did not come escorted by the British Navy, and subject to standard dispute settlement practices.
4. The Chinese business practice is different from the Philippine business practice. How would disputes be settled? Disputes frequently happen in joint ventures, that's why there is an arbitration clause. Would it be Arbitration by law or by muscle?
5. A joint venture would give the Chinese Coast Guard the excuse to permanently base their ships in Recto Bank so close to Palawan's coastline. And they would be frequenting Philippine ports for R & R. That will be a national security nightmare more costly than the oil revenue we can generate from the joint venture.
5. CNOOC has a bad human rights record in Myanmar when it even became the target of demonstrations there. It also got implicated in illegal drugs trafficking.
6. And finally it would be an unequal joint venture. Aside from dealing with CNOOC's armed security group, how can the Philippines monitor the production of the oil rig which expectedly will ship part of the production to China. In the case of Malampaya, all the gas production is being transported by pipeline to Batangas and cannot be diverted thus fully accounted for. If the Chinese diverts the production to China, how does the Philippines monitor and control.
7. Finally, should the joint venture terminate or gets pre-terminated due to violations, how do we tell CNOOC to leave? Gegerahin natin?
2. The most likely joint venture partner is the China National Offshore Oil Corporation or CNOOC, a giant state-owned entity which will technologically, politically, physically and financially dominate the Philippine partner. It will for sure bring in the infamous giant billion dollar oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 shown in photos here and will come escorted by big China Coast Guard ships for its "protection" and to bully the neighborhood. For sure, PLA Navy warships will also be in the vicinity especially with Mischief Reef ready to host warships and combat planes.
3. The state-owned CNOOC is indistinguishable from the the Chinese government. As earlier mentioned, it will operate backed up by Chinese coast guard and navy muscle, ready for action in case of a dispute. Should the oil rig be found violating the agreement and our laws, how can the Philippines enforce its rules and laws? In the Malampaya case, the Philippines is dealing with a private entity that did not come escorted by the British Navy, and subject to standard dispute settlement practices.
4. The Chinese business practice is different from the Philippine business practice. How would disputes be settled? Disputes frequently happen in joint ventures, that's why there is an arbitration clause. Would it be Arbitration by law or by muscle?
5. A joint venture would give the Chinese Coast Guard the excuse to permanently base their ships in Recto Bank so close to Palawan's coastline. And they would be frequenting Philippine ports for R & R. That will be a national security nightmare more costly than the oil revenue we can generate from the joint venture.
5. CNOOC has a bad human rights record in Myanmar when it even became the target of demonstrations there. It also got implicated in illegal drugs trafficking.
6. And finally it would be an unequal joint venture. Aside from dealing with CNOOC's armed security group, how can the Philippines monitor the production of the oil rig which expectedly will ship part of the production to China. In the case of Malampaya, all the gas production is being transported by pipeline to Batangas and cannot be diverted thus fully accounted for. If the Chinese diverts the production to China, how does the Philippines monitor and control.
7. Finally, should the joint venture terminate or gets pre-terminated due to violations, how do we tell CNOOC to leave? Gegerahin natin?
No comments:
Post a Comment