Aquino: Philippines willing to share resources but not sovereignty

2:25 pm | Thursday, May 17th, 2012

President Benigno Aquino III. (Photo by: Jay Morales / Malacañang Photo Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino wants the whole region to benefit from the huge natural gas deposits in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) but won’t allow other countries to claim areas that are rightfully the Philippines’.

“I am not empowered to give up any of our territory,” Aquino said during an open forum at a gathering of Wharton business school alumni in Makati City on Wednesday night.

Aquino was reacting to a suggestion that the Philippines and China enter into a 50-50 sharing arrangement for the energy resources in various disputed areas of the West Philippine Sea.

“Now, we have not stopped having communications with them in trying to look for the win-win situation,” the President went on. “But at the same time, you know, I am still bound by an oath that I took to defend and uphold the Constitution and enforce all of our laws.”

“If it’s clear that we have a 200-mile economic zone, exclusive economic zone, designated by the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, and both of us are parties to it, is it too much to ask that our rights are respected by our neighbors in the same token that we respect their rights?” he added.

Aquino stressed the government’s position to have the dispute resolved diplomatically. He said the Philippines was in no position to engage China militarily.

“We do not want to present a threat to them in any shape, manner or form, or whatsoever in terms of military action,” he said. “I keep using a joke, even if it were just a boxing match, they’re 1.3 billion and we’re 95 or 93 million. We will not prevail, and that is not the route.”

“So I go back, if we are able to exploit these resources (in a manner) that redounds to benefits for the entire region, we will be less dependent on oil from the Middle East and North Africa,” he said.

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Tags: business , China , Foreign affairs , natural gas , Petroleum , Philippines , Scarborough Shoal , South China Sea , territorial disputes , West Philippine Sea

http://profile.yahoo.com/W76YPENWLH6HJ65K2BFB75T3PI Andrew Pc

“So I go back..” said Mr. Aquino.
So, no more ITLOS / UNCLOS ?..the only way for Philippine to proclaim her sovereignty,said by Mr. Aquino not too long ago.
So now, come the interesting question, if no more ITLOS / UNCLOS, what on earth are you talking about sovereignty here ?..based on what ?..your bravado or Philippine people’s gullibility ?..OR, a big or
You still try hard to cover your big time screw-up, you knew it from the very beginning that there is no case for Philippine, but alas this was the best diversion you can thought of for the ever-deterioting domestic issues in hand.

Mr. Rigoberto Tiglao may be right about you, afterall !

pinoyusa2012

I agree. He is trying to save face.

Sovereignty. Ownership. The issue would not be put on the table from past and future bilateral discussions with China. It would only be resolved by armed confrontation.

The focus on the discussions are;

1) How to avoid future intrusions?
2) How to resolve it?
3) How to handle traffic?
4) What can both built?
5) What can both take?

and so on…

The drama is over. Noynoy was trying to buy and sell something at the expense of the people’s of the PH and China.

Let us hope it is fruitful in the end.

pinoyusa2012

Saving face. (exit strategy)

I think he did good after the fact.

He is trying to buy and sell something.

He gambled the safety of the Filipino people.

He offended the Chinese.

The people on both countries suffered the effects.

Let us hope it would be fruitful in the end.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001252607095 Yulin Sun

hmm…

Is that the way to settle the conflict over “diplomacy”?

No, Like a business negotiation.

My question is:
If it is yours, why share with other?
If it is not yours, why other share with you?

Are you president or a profiteer?

yifei song

can i speak chinese over here?

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001252607095 Yulin Sun

No. If you want to share your opinion and learn other’s response.
yifei song

i don’t wanna foreigners to know about read about this. i have discussed with filipinos in the page about loida lewis’s news, and that was horrible to let some filipinos to read by contents, they just 跟疯狗一样，到处乱咬（i know it is individual aggression, i don’t want those people to hear this, i was very polite to them before, never said dirty words）…
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001252607095 Yulin Sun

:-)
The real power is from those who do think, discuss and constructive confront and reach the truth. They will eventually impact and influent other person.

In fac, there are much dog-styple person in chinese BBS either. Let them bark and keep asking him for logic. They will run away.

Add something. I met quite a few philippine person who take serious research and respect other. They use the word “humble” to themselves and they made me feel I am “humble”. If there is chance, I would like to make friend with them.
http://profile.yahoo.com/UXQVYPKAJMK6HD37XTJ5WAPOT4 Saint

Do not fall into the trap of this guy. He is of no Chinese, he just wants to humiliate Filipinos and create tensions between China and PH.

Ignore name calling, focus on issues.
yifei song

haha, you understand that is great, but just don’t need to speak it out, that may make some people get unhappy. and, in a country with 1.3 billion population, there must so many types of people over here, that is normal. we can’t stop them, also, we are not them.

IanAlera

P_NOY said —- “I keep using a joke, even if it were just a boxing match, they’re 1.3
billion and we’re 95 or 93 million. We will not prevail, and that is not the route.”

I say — 1. Junk the RH Bill. Build up our country’s resources.

2. Export the ‘Ang LADLAD Partylist’ to China…Encourage HIV AIDS infected homosexuals to emigrate to China and to have fun there. — Let China deal with HIV_AIDS epidemic.
http://profile.yahoo.com/VUFRGRCCA5JXOLKEVCJQ3FBW3Y Concerned Citizen

May we know who suggested that 50-50 scheme?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ITE4Z5BIUZYXI5S7Q2AKDYOM5I Budoy

Only from the mind of a retarded politician.

Aquino: Philippines willing to share resources but not sovereignty

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