Marcos open to reviving stalled PH-China oil, gas talks

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he is open to resuming discussions with China on a joint oil and gas project in a disputed area of the South China Sea, adding that the conflict in the Middle East may serve as an impetus for progress in the talks.

Marcos and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in 2023 to restart talks on joint oil and gas development, but these have stalled for years.

“That’s something we’ve been talking about for a great deal, but territorial disputes are getting in the way of that,” Marcos said in an exclusive interview with Bloomberg News on Tuesday.

READ: Xi to Marcos: China ready to resume oil, gas talks

“Maybe this [conflict in the Middle East] provides impetus for both sides to come to an agreement,” he added.

When asked whether there needs to be a “reset” in the Philippines’ relationship with China amid geopolitical tensions, Marcos said, “It’s certainly going to happen.”

“I don’t think that we can… that it’s like an option. It’s happening now. There’s going to be a very, very serious restructuring,” he said.

READ: Marcos declares national energy emergency

According to Marcos, the two countries have always differentiated their territorial disputes from their trade arrangements, as many government programs are supported by China.

“And they have not used this as somehow, they haven’t leveraged this in any way. In quite a contrary, they’ve been very helpful in terms of for example, fertilizer, for which we import a great deal of fertilizer from China,” he said.

Meanwhile, when asked whether he supported the United States–Israel war in Iran, Marcos said, “We never want war.”

He added, “Our foreign policy is very simple: it’s peace and national interest.”

“We’re watching, waiting, hoping and praying that this ends soon and that we go back to some kind of normal, whatever that normal will be,” he also said. /dl