Carpio sees Philippine-China deal on oil, gas development safe
The joint cooperation on oil and gas development between the Philippines and China seemed safe, Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio said on Sunday.
Carpio, who is one of the nominees to be the Supreme Court Chief Justice, said the memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries during the recent state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping had safeguards to ensure that the sovereignty of the Philippines would not be compromised.
"I think we're pretty safe. The government has included service contractors, so if we cooperate, if the cooperation with China on oil and gas activities will be through service contractors, we're very safe," he told reporters.
The Department of Energy said earlier that the deal may or may not be applied in the disputed South China Sea or West Philippine Sea.
"I don't have any objection with that kind of arrangement because if China comes in through our service contractors, those service contracts expressly recognize that the area falls within Philippine sovereignty or sovereign rights," said Carpio, an expert on issues regarding the Philippine claims in the South China Sea.
He said that the Energy Forum, the service contractor in the Philippines' Recto Bank or Reed Bank, could even tap a Chinese firm as a subcontractor.
Businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan's PXP Energy Corporation, through its London-listed unit Forum Energy Plc, holds an exploration permit covering Recto Bank.
But the exploration in the Recto Bank has been suspended since the Aquino administration due to the territorial disputes between the two countries.
Recto Bank, which is within the 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, is also being claimed by China under its nine-dash line, which was invalidated by the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal. But China has refused to respect the ruling of the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Carpio said China "can come in as a subcontractor of Forum Energy or it can buy into equity of Forum Energy, or it could do both."
"That's okay because they (Chinese) are coming in to our service contractors," he said.
The magistrate said the proposed 60-40 sharing scheme with Beijing in the possible exploitation of resources in the West Philippine Sea could be pursued for as long as the government could again make sure that the country’s sovereignty would not be compromised.
“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,” he said.
The MOU on Cooperation on Oil and Gas Development acknowledged that "through positive dialogue and practical cooperation," the Philippines and China "have made substantial progress and meaningful gains in exploring opportunities and means to cooperate with each other in maritime activities, which has made significant contributions to peace, stability and development in the region."
The deal stated that an inter-governmental joint steering committee and an inter-entrepreneurial working group will be established and will be led by ministries of foreign affairs, as well as energy departments.
The Chinese identified China National Offshore Oil Corporation as the Chinese enterprise for each working group, while the Philippines has designated the Philippine National Oil Company ? Exploration Corporation as the Philippine enterprise.
The MOU was also specific on the timeline of the agreement, stating that the "two governments will endeavor to agree on the cooperation arrangements within 12 months."
The joint exploration, upon bearing fruit, would pave the way for another cooperation agreement on the exploitation of resources found, according to the same document.
"This Memorandum of Understanding does not create rights or obligations under international or domestic law," it added.
The MOU is not legally binding. DMS
