Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has warned that joint oil and gas exploration between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea could be a trap.
“Joint development is a trap because joint development means, you go to the website of China, it says joint development means China owns the gas, the oil, all the natural resources,” Carpio said in an interview during a visit to Pag-asa island.
“China has the sovereign rights (of what it explores and finds). That’s from the point of view of China. So why will we accept that?” he added.
Carpio visited Pag-asa Island to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a Catholic church.
This was his second visit to the island outpost, the first 14 years ago when the Philippines was still preparing the case it would file against China’s nine-dash line claim.
GMA News reports said the Philippine Coast Guard showed Carpio the structures being built by China in Panganiban Reef, which is inside the country’s exclusive economic zone. They also saw Chinese maritime militia vessels in Sabina Shoal.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said in an interview with Bloomberg that he was open to restarting discussions with Beijing on a joint energy project in the South China Sea.
