By Karen Lema and Nestor Corrales
MANILA, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Friday that there was a “distinct possibility” that the Philippines and China could undertake joint oil and gas exploration despite their long-running disputes in the South China Sea.
Marcos told foreign journalists that progress was being made in talks with China as Manila seeks to bolster its energy security.
Recent energy supply disruptions and price spikes had added urgency to efforts to tap potential offshore resources, he said.
“We have to find new ways… this discussion has gained prominence. And where we are now, I think we have moved forward,” Marcos added.
“The sense that I get is that all parties involved want it to succeed, and that is always a very good sign.”
Marcos said the Philippines needed additional oil and gas supplies and was working through the outstanding issues with China, including the terms of reference for any eventual arrangement.
“I can see the distinct possibility that there will be such joint exploration,” Marcos said.
The Philippines and China resumed high-level talks in March over the disputed South China Sea, exploring preliminary steps towards cooperation on oil and gas.
The two countries have for years discussed the prospect of joint exploration, including in the Reed Bank, but talks have repeatedly broken down, with disagreements about which country had sovereign rights.
Despite the disputes between the two maritime neighbours, Marcos said he was optimistic that they could continue to cooperate economically.
“I don’t think that’s in any policy, in any policy statement, that we are distancing ourselves from China,” Marcos said.
“We are continuing to find many, many instances where we are very much in cooperation with China. China is one of the biggest investors still in the Philippines,” he added.
Ties between the Philippines and China have been strained for years, and were tested again recently by a series of confrontations in the South China Sea.
Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than $3 trillion in trade passes every year, despite a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated those claims in a case brought by Manila.
Marcos also said there was no special arrangement with Beijing that obliged the Philippines to ask for permission to carry out resupply missions in the South China Sea or ceded any of its rights in the region, adding that Manila’s position had not been weakened.
(Reporting by Karen Lema, Mikhail Flores and Nestor Corrales; Writing by Martin Petty and Karen Lema; Editing by John Mair and David Stanway)
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