DFA Secretary Yasay clarifies stand on sharing South China Sea resources with China

Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay on Saturday clarified his position on entering into negotiations with China on possible joint exploration of oil and other resources in the South China Sea even if Manila wins the arbitration case next week.

Yasay said he was misquoted by the Agence France Presse, the global news agency that interviewed him on Friday ahead of the July 12 ruling to be issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the case lodged by Manila against Beijing's expansive claims in the vital sea lane.

"What I said is we have to wait for the ruling and study and dissect its implications," he said in a text message to GMA News Online.

Yasay said claimant countries "might consider" entering into arrangements such as joint exploration and utilization of natural resources because the ruling will not address issues of sovereignty and delimitation.

"(I)t is possible that some time in the future, claimant countries might consider entering into arrangements such as joint exploration and utilization of resources in disputed areas that do not prejudice the parties' claims and delimitation of boundaries in accordance with UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)," he said.

Apart from the Philippines and China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam are claiming parts of the South China Sea, renamed West Philippine Sea by former President Benigno Aquino III in 2012.

Despite the clarification, a group of youth protesters criticized Yasay for broaching the idea of joint exploration in the disputed areas.

According to the Kalayaan Atin Ito Movement, the DFA chief should stop treating the West Philippine Sea "as if it is your personal property."

"Mr. Yasay, the West Philippine Sea belongs to the 100 million Filipino people, consult the Filipino people!" the group said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

The group added that Yasay was not with them when they embarked on bold missions to assert the Philippines' claim over some islands and shoals.

Chinese coast guard vessels previously blocked the group's attempt to plant the Philippine flag on disputed Scarborough Shoal to mark the country's 118th Independence Day last June 12.

Last January, the group claimed that a Chinese chopper hovered over their tents for a week at the Pagasa Island while a Chinese coast guard vessel monitored them from a distance. — VVP, GMA News