Agence France-Presse
The Philippines will bid out oil exploration contracts in the South China Sea despite recent tensions with China over conflicting territorial claims in those waters, an official said Wednesday.
The three blocs in the South China Sea, off the coast of the western Philippine island of Palawan, are believed to be the most promising for oil and gas deposits, said Energy Undersecretary James Layug.
"All reserves in that area belong to the Philippines. We will only offer areas within our exclusive economic zone," he said at the sidelines of an energy forum in Manila.
The area, known as the northwest Palawan basin, is just beside the Philippines' existing natural gas fields, which already provide 40 percent of the electrical power of the main Philippine island of Luzon, said Layug.
"These are all beside our existing service contracts so there is no doubt that these areas belong to the Philippines," he added.
He said historically Philippine energy exploration had the most success in these areas off Palawan, indicating the three new blocs might also hold large oil and gas reserves.
The exploration contracts for the three blocs will be bidded out on July 31, he said.
Tensions between the Philippines and China have recently risen due to conflicting claims over parts of the South China Sea.
The focus of the latest conflict is the Scarborough Shoal, which the Philippines insists is well within its exclusive economic zone but which China claims along with most of the South China Sea.
Another South China Sea area, the potentially-oil-rich Reed Bank, is also due for development by the Philippines but has been claimed by China.
Last year, the Philippines accused China of harassing an oil exploration ship at Reed Bank.
Layug said China had not objected to the plans to bid out the contracts for the three blocs.
China claims nearly all of the South China Sea even up to the coast of its neighbours. The Philippines has cited international law to bolster its claims.
Ministers and diplomats representing China and Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines were meanwhile Wednesday meeting at an ASEAN summit in Cambodia, working on a code of conduct designed to ease tensions in the South China Sea, but were struggling to reach agreement.
4 comments:
phillipines is a greedy pig that want to steal islands and shoals from china. i hope china will nuke manila to ashes, really!
Alien-slanted eyes chinks should be happy with your own UNCLOS 200 Nautical miles from your border. Your communist nation was found in 1940s, and there is nothing historical about your claims. You chinks are afraid to go to international court, why? because your stink chink mouths can't argue your case.
@1:20AM,
You, inbreed, need to learn more of Chinese past history before spewing proxy with inward comments. Pinoys are a blind-mouse that serves as an outpost of its former colonial master. And the ungrateful-viet gooks are nothing more than a tricky-con artist that loves to brag about its two inch-manhood over French and America wars. Without China and Soviet you're NADA!!! These lowly western stooges will be the initial sideshows of SCS of Sino/US realpolitiks in Asia. UN is an American-funded organization--Irag war??? Why should China uses UNCLOS while the westpac aren't signatory members??? Derogatory name-callings are how the inbreed express its voices.
you are talking about the greediest nations on earth, china and vietnam. wonder why phillippines is standing alone against china because vietnam also wants phillippines islands also just like vietnam wants and is taking khmer lands.
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