NATION | Roque: 1987 Constitution allows joint exploration of West Philippine Sea

Philippine Marines on the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded Navy ship that serves as an outpost in the West Philippine Sea. AP/Bullit Marquez, file -with Jonathan de Santos

           

MANILA, Philippines — Joint exploration of the West Philippine Sea by the Philippines and China will not violate the 1987 Constitution or international law, Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque said.

 

Roque, an expert on international law, opposed a similar agreement between the Philippines, China and Vietnam signed during the Arroyo administration, saying doing so weakened the Philippines' claim over the disputed part of the South China Sea that Manila claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

 

He said that the situation has changed since "we now have arbitral decision that limits claim of China."

 

An international arbitral tribunal ruled in July 2016 that China's nine dash line claim over a large part of the South China Sea does not have a legal basis and that it had violated Philippine rights to enter Scarborough Shoal, which Manila calls Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal.

 

China has refused to recognize the decision, saying the proceedings were invalid from the start. China and the Philippines have agreed to set aside the issue of the maritime dispute and instead focus on areas of cooperation.

 

Roque said in a statement Thursday that "the idea of coming to mutual agreements over natural resources is constitutional and has been beneficial in the past."

 

He said that the 1987 Constitution allows the president to enter into agreements and service agreements with foreign corporations for the exploration, development and use of resources like minerals, petroleum and other mineral oils.

 

"Under these agreements, foreign corporations may act as contractors, providing capital, technology, and technical know-how and managerial expertise, while the government exercises control and supervision over the operation," Roque said.

'Cooperation to defuse tension'

He also said that cooperation and resource sharing is a common practice to avoid tension between states.

 

"Under the rules provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, states have repeatedly signed maritime boundary treaties to negotiate maritime boundaries with their neighbors to prevent future disputes from arising," he said.

 

He added it is in the country's interest to consider entering into a resource-sharing agreement because the resolution of maritime dispute could take decades.

 

President Rodrigo Duterte, whose administration is distancing itself from the US and strengthening ties with China and Russia and with Southeast Asian neighbors, floated the idea of resource sharing in December.

 

"Kung gusto ninyo, let's just develop what's the oil there, hati na lang tayo. Anuhin ko ba yang dagat kung walang... What will I do with this carbon source, swim there every day?" Duterte said in a speech in Malacañan. 

 

Bayan Muna, which opposed the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU), has yet to issue a statement on the potential resource sharing but warned last July of entering into a similar deal.

 

"While we are for the peaceful resolution of our maritime dispute with China, we must, however, be wary of future joint exploration agreements because of our bad experience with the JMSU, where our country was placed in a very disadvantageous position when the Arroyo government allowed China an unbridled access in our maritime territory, especially the gathering of valuable data on natural gas deposits in our territories like the Recto (Reed) Bank," Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate said then.