‘NO SOVEREIGNTY RECOGNITION, NO CHINA GAS DEAL’
Any deal between the Philippines and a Chinese company to jointly explore for gas at Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea will be illegal unless China recognizes the Philippines’ sovereign rights there, acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio said on Monday.
The West Philippine Sea is part of the South China Sea within the Philippines’ 370kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the heavily disputed waterway recognized under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).
Manila has identified two areas in the West Philippine Sea suitable for joint exploration and the two countries are seeking a way to tackle the diplomatic and legal headache of jointly exploring in the area but without dealing with the question of sovereignty.
Internationally known as Reed Bank, Recto Bank is claimed by both countries, but international law says it falls within the Philippines’ EEZ.
China says it falls within the so-called nine-dash line on maps recording its historic rights in almost the entire South China Sea.
Arbitral ruling
But the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, in a July 12, 2016, ruling, invalidated China’s claim to nearly all of the strategic waterway and declared it had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights to fish and explore for resources in its own EEZ.
Carpio, a member of the legal team that argued the Philippine case before the arbitral tribunal, said it was legal for the Department of Energy (DOE) to talk to state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) as a possible subcontractor.
“There’s no problem as long as CNOOC will recognize that that is our exclusive economic zone,” he told news channel ANC in an interview. “But that is the problem, because CNOOC will not recognize [Philippine jurisdiction].”
The tribunal, in its ruling, made clear that Recto Bank falls within the Philippines’ EEZ, and that Manila has sovereign rights to resources there.
But China, which did not participate in the arbitration, ignored the ruling, insisting it owned nearly the whole South China Sea, including waters close to the shores of the Philippines and the other claimants in the waterway—Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.
China is a signatory to Unclos, but insists the Hague ruling has no bearing on its sweeping claim in the South China Sea.
“The stumbling block has always been the insistence of China that we recognize their sovereign rights,” Carpio said.
“We cannot do that anymore because there’s already a ruling. And the Constitution says the state shall protect its marine wealth in its exclusive economic zone, it’s very specific,” he said.
Not disputed anymore
The ruling has made clear the Philippines’ ownership of the area, Carpio said, adding that the West Philippine Sea should no longer be referred to as “disputed.”
“The legal ownership is not disputed anymore, so we should not say the area is disputed because the moment that you say that the area is disputed, China will say, ‘You see, it’s still disputed,” he said.
Recto Bank was the site of exploration by the Philippines’ PXP Energy Corp. to evaluate the block’s gas reserves, until the DOE suspended activities there in late 2014 because of the arbitration case.
PXP has had talks with CNOOC for possible joint exploration and development, but the arbitration halted negotiations. Carpio said who should collect taxes was also an issue between the two companies.
Last week, presidential spokespeson Harry Roque said any potential deals between Manila and Beijing should be agreed with a company and not the Chinese government.
Roque said such a deal was allowed under Philippine law because a Supreme Court ruling in 2004 allowed the President to enter into agreements with foreign interests for large-scale exploration.
But Carpio said on Monday that the Supreme Court had yet to decide on a case involving joint seismic marine undertaking, because the La Bugal case cited by Roque covered only land exploration.
Under current laws, Carpio said, only the Philippines can explore and exploit resources within its EEZ and although it can have foreign subcontractors, those companies must “submit to Philippine laws.”
Carpio is serving as acting Chief Justice in the absence of Maria Lourdes Sereno, who is preparing for her defense in an impeachment case that she expects the House of Representatives to bring against her in the Senate.
“I may lose a possible Chief Justice appointment but that’s a small price to pay for defending our maritime zones,” Carpio said, referring to his stand in the West Philippine Sea dispute that is opposed to President Duterte’s policy of improving relations with China.
“If we do not defend our maritime area, we may lose it forever,” he said.