Zubiri urges oil exploration in Sulu Sea, Benham Rise

MANILA, Philippines — The government could explore other bodies of water in the Philippines and not just the West Philippine Sea for oil, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said on Wednesday.

The Philippines and China recently agreed to resume negotiations on oil and gas exploration in the West Philippine Sea following President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s state visit to Beijing.

READ: PH, China agree to resume oil, gas exploration talks in West PH Sea

However, the Supreme Court (SC) declared a 2005 agreement allowing China and Vietnam to hold a joint oil exploration with the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea as void and unconstitutional.

READ: SC voids 2005 oil search deal; ruling lauded as ‘a warning to Marcos’

“May implications po ‘yan sa mga negotiations ng ating pangulo in his recent visit to China,” he said in a Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum, referring to the SC ruling.

(There are implications with the President’s negotiations in his recent visit to China.)

“There are questions there. One question: Are we now barred from doing joint exploration with other claimant countries such as China and Vietnam under this ruling?” he added.

For Zubiri, the SC ruling should be reviewed “carefully.”

“We have to study that very, very carefully, and with that, we have to tread cautiously in these exploration talks with, for example, China,” he said.

Zubiri then proposed to look into other bodies of water in the country such as the Sulu Sea and Benham Rise.

“We have other opportunities. I do not know why we’re always concentrating on the West Philippine Sea, South China Sea area. We can continue to explore down south,” he said.

Zubiri believes that the Sulu Sea has potential oil reserves while the Benham Rise could be explored as there are no other claimants there.

“Talking about oil exploration, we have many parts of the country. We’re an archipelago. Ako, hindi naniniwala na walang langis doon sa Sulu Sea, between Mindanao and Palawan. Napakaganda po ng lugar na ‘yan,” he noted.

(I do not believe that there is no oil in the Sulu Sea, between Mindanao and Palawan. That place is so beautiful.)

“Ako, I would suggest that we focus also on other areas of the country. We can also look into Benham Rise, which is east of Quezon. Walang claimant du’n, atin ‘yun. Malapit sa atin ‘yun (There is no claimant there, that is ours. That is near us),” the senator went on.

Based on the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Philippines has sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea in the contested South China Sea, invalidating China’s nine-dash claim in the maritime area.

READ: PH wins arbitration case over South China Sea

Aside from the Philippines and China, other claimant nations of the South China Sea are Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.

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