The Energy Department expressed keen interest to immediately meet with his Chinese counterpart to draw up the framework of the oil and gas cooperation in West Philippine Sea.
“I have already expressed my intention to meet, my Chinese counterpart. I have sent my message already that I want to meet immediately,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said.
The Philippines and China signed an agreement to cooperate on oil and gas development, part of the deals forged during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in November.
“The MOU is to explore a solution. I don’t want more delays, so I gave notice to meet already,” Cusi said.
He said the notice was directed to China but coursed through the Department of Foreign Affairs.
“I am ready, I want to meet immediately, anytime, anywhere. I am not passive, I’m saying let’s meet already,” Cusi said.
Energy Assistant Secretary Gerardo Erquiza said the department advised DFA as a “matter of protocol.”
“Anytime we can start and go through the process. We just have to go through some details,” Erquiza said.
He said the framework would work within the service contract system of the Philippines and “sets forth the elements of the Philippine jurisdiction.”
“It clearly stated also that it shall conform with international law, the UN charter, the UNCLOS [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea] and the South China Sea related agreements, so it’s within the framework,” Erquiza said.
He said framework “does not generally create obligation among the parties.”
“It does not place the Philippines in the situation that the Philippines is giving up its rights, based on that framework. We have started the ball rolling. It’s a framework to work together towards being able to have a fruitful endeavor activity with china regarding these areas covered by service contracts,” he said.
Cusi earlier said the department aimed to come out with the guidelines for the joint Philippines-China oil and gas exploration deal in the West Philippine Sea within one year after the signing of the MOU.
“That MOU, we have to sit down immediately and come out with our position and we should do it, if I remember it right, within a period of no more than one year. That is for us to come out with ways to harness the resources, or do a joint development or joint exploration,” Cusi said.
Cusi said the agreement focused on how to move forward with a joint cooperation to explore for oil and gas reserves in the disputed areas but no joint exploration agreement was signed.
“Under the MOU, the conflicted area, we are talking about how to develop ways, on how are we going to explore, develop, exploit the resources there,” the energy chief said.
“DFA and DoE will sit down with Chinese counterparts and further discuss what will be done,” he said.
Cusi also raised the urgency of lifting the moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the disputed areas.
“We want to lift it…We do not want to create problems that we may not be able to handle..There’s also urgency to that but we don’t want to impose a timeline that is not within our control because there are other factors we have to consider…The president is pushing us to solve the problem,” he said.