NextGen Day

On Friday, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian reiterated that China’s recognition of the Philippine Constitution is a must for any potential cooperative oil exploration between China and the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian stated in an interview with ANC that “our Constitution should be the enabling document, and that’s our minimum requirement, and if China cannot follow that, then this is where the complexity would come in.”

Gatchalian made his statement after the Supreme Court on Tuesday found the 2005 agreement on a collaborative exploration of an area in the disputed South China Sea by the Philippines, China, and Vietnam unlawful.

Although the SC decision affirms the nation’s right to control its territory, according to Gatchalian, it would simply make things more complicated because China will continue to assert its territorial claims over WPS.

The Supreme Court’s decision establishes the parameters for what they should be looking at and turns into the minimum requirement for any future joint exploration, according to Gatchalian. “What our country and China want to do is to study all the complications and study how to move forward, but then again, the Supreme Court decision sets the parameters on what they should be looking at,” he added.

“I don’t think we can continue further with this collaborative exploration, to be honest. It’s helpful that we are conversing. We are fortunate to be receptive to it. However, when it comes down to the details, the prevailing legislation should take precedence. I believe that issue will cause us to stumble, and I believe that the best argument or piece of evidence will be what was discussed under the previous administration, he continued.

He claimed that despite four years of negotiations, the exploration had not yet been agreed upon by the administration of the time’s president, Rodrigo Duterte.

The congressman declared, “Obviously, nothing happened after four years, obviously, it’s more complicated than they imagined, and obviously, there are many things that they cannot agree on.”

Which law should regulate the joint exploration is one of the issues that the two nations were unable to resolve, according to Gatchalian.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to pick up their conversation about oil and gas development during the latter’s recent state visit to China.

Speaking on behalf of the Chinese foreign ministry, Wang Wenbin stated that the two leaders had discussed the Memorandum of Understanding on Oil and Gas Development that had been signed in 2018, ensuring that the future negotiations will “build upon the outcomes of the prior consultations.”

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