Robredo: Setting aside arbitral ruling to pave way for joint exploration disappointing, irresponsible

Vice President Leni Robredo on Thursday questioned President Rodrigo Duterte’s alleged plan to set aside the arbitral ruling to give way to the joint oil and gas exploration with China in the disputed South China Sea.

Duterte told reporters on Tuesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had offered the Philippines majority stake in the joint exploration if Manila would set aside the arbitral award, which invalidated China’s sweeping claim to nearly the entire South China Sea, including areas under Manila’s exclusive economic zone.

The chief executive added the issue on the exclusive economic zone was part of the ruling “which we will ignore to come up with an economic activity.”

“The recent declaration by the President that he will ‘ignore’ the arbitral ruling upholding the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea to pave the way for a joint oil and gas exploration agreement with China is profoundly disappointing and extremely irresponsible,” Robredo said.

She said Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has already stated that there is no need to set aside the country’s 2016 victory in the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in order for joint development between China and the Philippines to move forward.

“Our own Constitution already grants the state ample authority to enter into agreements with foreign entities for exploration and development of oil and gas resources, provided that these shall lead to ‘real contributions to the economic growth and general welfare of the country,’” Robredo said.

“Why, then, was this reckless pronouncement made?”

She said war is not an option in asserting the country’s sovereign rights, citing the example of Vietnam and Indonesia.

“A firm, consistent assertion of our legal rights does not require a single shot being fired, yet why do the President and his administration constantly fail at doing it?” she said.

“Why are the President and his administration the very ones who undermine our decisive victory before the arbitral tribunal in 2016 with remarks such as this?”

Robredo called for “great care in ensuring that we are not trading away the long-term interests of our nation and our children for short-term profit.”

“Guaranteeing a better future for our children is perhaps one of the most important, and most difficult, responsibilities of any administration. Selling that future for a gas deal with China is a shameful way of abandoning that responsibility,” she said. —KBK, GMA News