Joint exploration eyed

US Navy says it won’t be deterred

MANILA, Feb 17, (Agencies): China and the Philippines are discussing joint mineral exploration in the South China Sea despite an ongoing territorial conflict over the strategic waterway, Manila’s foreign secretary said Friday.

The two countries, long embroiled in a dispute over their competing claims to the area, are hoping talks will open the door for them to jointly tap its resources, Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said.

“We are pushing it aggressively because we need it,” Cayetano told reporters, adding the countries would each form a working group to explore options for joint exploration.

“Then we will find a framework under our constitution that will allow us ... joint exploration,” he said. “We both want it.” The South China Sea is a major trading route and fishing ground believed to have vast mineral resources, and is also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost all of the area but in 2016 a UNbacked tribunal acting on a case brought by then-Philippine leader Benigno Aquino rejected its claims.

Current President Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in mid-2016, has since alarmed defence analysts and lawyers by down-playing the Philippine claim and largely setting aside the ruling so as to accomodate China — which is promising military and economic aid.

But on Friday Cayetano said the Philippines would consult with “international legal experts” to make sure any accord would not hurt Philippine sovereign rights.

“Whatever we do, it will not only (be) in accordance with Philippine law but also the UNCLOS,” referring to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

He stressed the talks would only cover exploration, not actual development.

“Right now, we have not (been) discussing developments. We are discussing exploration first. What’s the use of the debate whether or not the constitution allows a joint development if we don’t know if there is anything we can harvest,” he said.

Meanwhile, a Navy officer aboard a mammoth US aircraft carrier brimming with F18 fighter jets said Saturday that American forces would continue to patrol the South China Sea wherever “international law allows us” when asked if China’s newly built islands could restrain them in the disputed waters.

Lt Cmdr Tim Hawkins told The Associated Press on board the USS Carl Vinson that the Navy has carried out routine patrols at sea and on air in the strategic waters for 70 years to promote regional security and guarantee the unimpeded flow of trade that’s crucial for Asian and US economies.

“International law allows us to operate here, allows us to fly here, allows us to train here, allows us to sail here, and that’s what we’re doing and we’re going to continue to do that,” Hawkins said on the flight deck of the 95,000-ton warship, which anchored at Manila Bay while on a Philippine visit.