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The Congress should be informed of any agreement the president made in accordance
with this provision within 30 days from execution.
Under Republic Act 7042 or the Foreign Investment Act of 1991, foreign equities may
invest up to 40 percent on the exploitation of natural resources and utilization of land
ownership.
Carpio earlier told the government to make sure the country's sovereignty will not be
compromised in the proposed 60-40 scheme with China.
“As long as the joint development complies with the Philippine Constitution and there
is no waiver of our sovereign rights under the arbitral ruling, I have no objection,”
Carpio said.
What is ours, is ours. This includes the trove of resources in the West
Philippine Sea.
As I have written in this corner a few months ago, beneath the pristine waters
of the West Philippine Sea lies an estimated 11 billion barrels of oil, 190 trillion
feet of natural gas, and 10 percent of the world’s fishing resources. The sheer
amount of natural resources is among the reasons why China covets our
sovereign territory and those of Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, and Malaysia.
China has laid absolute claim to the entire stretch of the West Philippine Sea
by asserting a territorial delineation called the nine-dash line. In reality, the
nine-dash line is nothing but a vague, disjointed demarcation of domain that
was first published in 1947. Fairly recent, in historical terms.
In recent years, China declared that it is expanding its claim to a ten-dash line
which now includes the entire island of Taiwan. Only a country like China can
make a “historical claim” pliable at its caprice.
In a move to grab the territories from smaller claimants, China has defied this
global treaty and militarized the area. Satellite images show that it has built a
military airbase and naval base, complete with a refueling depot on Fiery
Cross, Subi, and Mischief Reefs. Military grade radars were also erected in
Cuarteron, Gaven, Johnson and Hughs Reefs. This enables China to monitor
air and sea traffic in any point of the waters.
Since 2013, China began to assert its conjured sovereignty over the disputed
area by requiring vessels, including those from the Philippines, to seek
permission for passage and even to fish. Those who enter its nine dash line
without clearance are bulldozed by heavily-armed patrol vessels. It is a ‘grab-
by-force’ strategy that a typical playground bully would employ.
PRINCIPLED PRAGMATISM
President Duterte has opted to make a friend of China instead of being
combative towards it. The idea is to get the most of the country’s aggressor
without provoking it.
The reason he gets flack is his own doing. In his attempt to befriend the
playground bully, the President has resorted to over-the-top acts of
accommodation and grandiose declarations of friendship which has spawned
unease among the populace.
Shock waves rippled through the land when the President said that “China
should turn the Philippines into a Chinese province.” These words were
uttered before the Chinese Filipino Business Club.
To many, it was as if our own Chief Executive had already ceded the nation to
its illegal invader. Malacañang’s spin doctors went on overdrive to tell us not
to take the words of the President literally. Still, the populace took the
President’s words to heart. Who can blame them? After all, he is still the
President and his words reflect the sentiments of the state. His words cut
deep, especially to the patriots among us.
His standing orders to pedal softly and not assert our victory at the United
Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague (that deemed China’s
nine-dash line invalid) does not inspire confidence either.
This, however, is all part of the principled pragmatism strategy, albeit done in
a uselessly exaggerated manner.
Beneath the hyperbolic acts of love by the President towards China is the
intent to make the most out of the sticky situation we are in. Time will tell if the
strategy pays off.
In the end, the strategy can only be deemed a success if the Philippines gets
more trade concessions, more investments and more Official Development
Assistance from China without sacrificing a speck of its sovereignty.
During the Asian Forum in Hainan last April, Chinese President Xi Jinping
committed to ensure stability and cooperation in the disputed area. It was
further agreed that both nations would treat the disputed territories as a “sea
of cooperation and friendship.”
This begs the question — since China is the encroacher and the Philippines is
the encroached, is it safe and constitutional sound for the Philippines to jointly
explore the disputed waters with China? The answer is yes, provided certain
safeguards are put in place. These are the constitutional provisions pertinent
to the issue:
This is the same agreement entered into by the Philippine government with
Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. in the exploration and extraction of LNG in
Malampaya. It has worked without complications.
In fact, another claimant to the disputed waters, Vietnam, has a standing joint
exploration agreement with China National Offshore Oil Corporation. The
Vietnamese are already benefiting from the resources of their part of the
disputed waters. We should too.
What is ours, is ours. No entity should prevent us from benefitting from our
own natural resources. Engaging in joint exploration with China, or any other
nation for that matter, works to our best interest so long as constitutional
safeguards are satisfied.
http://www.bworldonline.com/joint-exploration-with-china-in-the-west-philippine-sea/
https://jip.ph/joint-exploration-with-china-not-just-about-economic-benefits-expert/
http://news.abs-cbn.com/list/tag/joint-exploration