Philippines ‘cautious’ on China’s offer to jointly explore for oil in Spratlys area

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is being cautious about Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing’s declaration of Beijing’s openness to a joint exploration in the contested West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), a statement recently reiterated by China’s Foreign Ministry in asserting its commitment to a peaceful resolution to the maritime dispute.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said on Monday that any joint development in disputed territories off the Western seaboard should abide by Philippine law and that talks should be led by the private sector.
“We take a guarded position on China’s statement on joint development,” Del Rosario told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in comments sent by text.
“Any commercial negotiations on oil exploration should be left to the concerned private sector parties to undertake.  Any exploration agreement in the West Philippine Sea must be in accordance with Philippine law,” said the Philippines’ top diplomat.
In an interview with Inquirer reporters and editors in December, Ma expressed China’s willingness to jointly explore oil and mineral riches in the West Philippine Sea, saying “it is a still very valid formula” as border disputes might not be solved “in the very short term.”
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun also said in a recent speech in Beijing that “joint development may still well be a practical approach” in resolving the maritime dispute, asserting that China has been against the use and threat of force in settling the issue.
Del Rosario declined to further comment when asked how the Chinese openness could possibly impact the sovereignty debate.
China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have conflicting claims over territories in the West Philippine Sea, believed to be rich in oil, mineral and marine resources.
The China National Offshore Oil Corp. is known to have started deep-water drilling in parts of the South China Sea.
Taiwan’s Bureau of Mines and state-run oil supplier CPC Corp. have also announced plans to start oil and exploration in waters around Ligao Island, the biggest islet in the disputed Spratlys that the Taiwanese call Taiping.
The Philippines, meanwhile, is known to have oil exploration contracts in part of the Spratlys within its exclusive economic zone.
China’s statements asserting its commitment to peacefully resolving the maritime dispute came amid actions that the Philippines have viewed as violations of international law, including Chinese sea patrols in the disputed waters, military drills and construction of new infrastructure in Sansha City.
China established the city on its southern province of Hainan in 2012 to supposedly govern the whole of Spratlys.  It is known to have some 1,000 civilians and 6,000 troops as permanent residents.
 By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Read More

US drone crashes off Masbate Police

(UPDATED) MANILA, Philippines - The police said a US-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed into the sea off Masbate Sunday, January 6.
The drone, a model BQM-74E Chukar III, made impact on Sunday morning near Sitio Tacdugan, San Jacinto, provincial police director Senior Supt. Heriberto Olitoquit said on Monday, January 7.
Olitoquit said that it was local fishermen who recovered the UAV and brought it to shore believing at first that it was a bomb, until local police checked the item and confirmed it was in fact a drone.
The UAV -- 3.93 m long, 71 cm high and with a wingspan of 1.75 m -- will be turned over to the Philippine Navy, the official added.
"It appears to have been floating for quite some time," Captain Rommel Galang, deputy commander of naval forces in the area, told AFP.
"We will first study this drone but initially it appears to be a UAV used largely in reconnaissance."
He added it had inscriptions and a serial number that "indicate it is an American drone."
Galang said the US embassy had been informed of the discovery and local authorities would eventually turn it over to them.
Spokespersons for the embassy and the Department of Foreign Affairs were not immediately available to comment.
US training PH military to use drones
The US has been training the Philippine military to use these drones against Muslim rebels in Mindanao, according to various US and Philippine officials.
In an interview with AFP last year, President Benigno Aquino III confirmed that the Philippines has been allowing US drones to overfly its territory for reconnaissance flights, but were not allowed to make strikes.

Rappler reported in March that US smart bombs delivered by a different model Scan Eagle UAV were used for the first time on Philippine territory in a February 2 attack on Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists.
The raid was the result of 15 months of training and technology transfer from the United States to Filipino forces under a new aid program for counterterrorism efforts approved in 2010.
About 600 US forces have been rotating in the southern Philippines since 2002 as part of the US government's global war on terror.
However the drone was found in Masbate, many hundreds of kilometres from the Muslim insurgency-racked areas where no US troops are known to operate.
Masbate is one of the areas where communists waging a decades-long rebellion have long operated. - Rappler.com, with reports from Agence France-Presse

Read More