Palace: No gov’t policy yet on joint exploration with China

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Malacañang on Tuesday said there was no official policy yet for a joint exploration with China on the disputed gas-rich West Philippine Sea.

Presidential Communications Secretary Ernesto Abella issued the statement a day after President Rodrigo Duterte floated the idea of jointly exploring the resources in the West Philippine Sea with China.

“There is no government policy regarding that matter at this stage but I suppose, what he is referring to was business-to-business partnerships,” Abella told reporters in a Palace briefing.

“I believe these are not government-to-government agreements but it may be business-to-business agreements, not necessarily… they are not official. It maybe private sector,” he added.

Asked about the recent pronouncement of Duterte that he would “set aside” the United Nations’ (UN) arbitral ruling over the West Philippine Sea despite the country’s historic win, Abella said the government would continue to “adhere” to the decision.

READ: Duterte says he’ll ‘set aside’ arbitral ruling on South China Sea

In his previous speeches, Duterte had publicly said that he would not insist the arbitral ruling on China, which favors the Philippines’ maritime claims over the West Philippine Sea.

“The government will continue to adhere to the rulings because these are technically our properties, technically,” Abella said. JE