Palace: Joint exploration in South China Sea a form of compromise amid maritime dispute

Malacañang on Tuesday it would be better for the Philippines and China to set aside their maritime dispute to give way for joint exploration of the resource-rich South China Sea.

At a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque dismissed the claim of Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio that China must first recognized the Philippines' sovereign rights in some areas of the South China Sea before proceeding with the joint exploration.

The Palace earlier identified Service Contracts 57 and 72 as potential areas for joint exploration by Filipino and Chinese corporations.

SC 57 is located west of the Calamian Islands in northwest Palawan while SC 72 is in the Reed Bank.

"Sa 72, sa akin po hindi kinakailangan iyon [for China to recognize Philippines' sovereign rights]. Kasi nga po itong joint exploration ay by way of compromise na huwag na nating pag-awayan muna iyong issue kung sino ang mayroong sovereign rights diyan, makinabang na muna tayo," Roque said.

"At sa akin ang sinasabi ko lang po, walang mali diyan dahil tayo naman, dahil mayroon tayong exclusive na karapatan na kumalap ng tanging yaman diyan, pupuwede tayong pumayag na magkaroon ng joint exploration kasama ang mga dayuhan, desisyon po iyan ng isang soberenyang bayan," he added.

The Philippines suspended exploration in the Reed Bank in 2014 as it pursued international arbitration of its territorial disputes with China.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague invalidated China’s claim over most of the South China Sea.

The arbitration tribunal's ruling spelled out the Philippines’ sovereign rights to access offshore oil and gas fields, including the Reed Bank, within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

Beijing has since refused to recognize the ruling, which President Rodrigo Duterte set aside in order to forge closer ties with China, the world's second largest economy. — RSJ, GMA News