THE Philippines and China are nearing completion of a “framework” agreement to develop the hydrocarbon deposits in the contested areas of the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
“We are going about the framework in a slow but sure way…not only bilateral but multiparties,” Foreign Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said during a media briefing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday, before leaving for Singapore to attend the 51st Asean Ministerial Meeting.
“In terms of actual deadline, ASAP, but f you have to make an educated guess, it would be the whole of this year or next year, if you want everyone satisfied.”
Admitting that the final framework agreement is difficult to work out, they have agreed to “start with the low-lying fruit, those we can agree with,” because, he said, “anyone can throw a deal-breaker, then we have no agreement.”
The discussion about joint exploration to extract natural gas in the WPs has been ongoing under President Duterte’s administration.
Some experts welcome the idea since the country’s main source of natural gas, the Malampaya field in Palawan, will be depleted in 12 years, or sooner.
Malampaya supplies natural gas to three power plants in Luzon with a collective capacity of 2,700 megawatts, powering about 50 percent of Luzon’s power needs.
The West Philippine Sea has an estimated 190 trillion feet of liquid natural gas, according to some experts.
Cayetano said the participants are “all hoping the framework could be completed substantially this year or by November,” during the Asean Leaders Meeting in Manila.
“Having said that, you don’t have to wait for the COC [Code of Conduct] to start implementing the things you want in the COC, such as preventing dynamite fishing or the digging for giant clams.”
Cayetano said the starting point in the negotiation is that: “The participants cannot go beyond the Constitution and the sharing should be 60-40, just like Malampaya.”
“It looks like our Chinese brothers are amenable to 60-40, so what’s the difference whether it’s disputed or nondisputed if, in both cases, we do need foreign partners with financial and technical capabilities?” the DFA chief pointed out.
He said the exploitation of the Sampaguita field beneath Reed Bank has an initial investment of about $6 billion.
Image credits: AP