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Business Mirror
8 April 2010
HANOI—The Philippines has urged China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to enter into a joint agreement to facilitate private-sector investments using the oil and gas resources found in the disputed islands of South China Sea to address legal and sovereignty issues between claimant countries.
A senior official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Asean is now reviewing 18 projects and “implementable” proposals for the oil resources found in the disputed islands of Spratlys in South China Sea.
A joint seismic survey of the disputed areas in undertaken in 2008 by claimant countries—Philippines, China and Vietnam—found oil resources in the area.
“But because of legal and sovereign issues, the governments, particularly the Philippines, find it hard to move to next steps,” said the senior Philippine official, who requested anonymity.
China has been seeking bilateral agreements with Asean members on the oil-exploration projects in the disputed Spratly Islands, but Asean members have agreed to negotiate as one body.
“Because if the country [Asean member] is weak, Asean thinks that it can easily be dominated by China,” said the senior diplomat.
The diplomat said the next step is for the governments to enter into agreements for exploration, marine studies and further surveys.
But government officials and legislators have questioned the sovereignty issue in entering an agreement with China.
The Philippines is circulating its proposal to Asean members to allow private firms of the regional bloc to enter into a joint agreement with China.
The disputes over the Spratly Islands are expected to dominate discussions in the 16th Asean Leaders’ Summit to be held in this Vietnamese capital on April 8 and 9 since Vietnam, a claimant country, chairs the meeting.
“The private firms can have joint projects, such as scientific surveys. Because of competing claims, governments find it difficult to enter into joint agreements so the Philippines will propose that the private sector can go where governments could not,” the source said Asean member-countries and China have signed the Code of Conduct in South China Sea in 2002 as a legal framework to ensure peace, stability and development in the South China Sea despite conflicting claims.
The Philippines, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have formalized claims into the disputed oil-rich islands.
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