The government has ordered all oil exploration activities in the West Philippine Sea to be suspended, demonstrating once again that this administration has the backbone of a jellyfish when it comes to standing up to China.
The order came a month after President Rodrigo Duterte said in a public address that the Philippines had no choice but to abide by a supposed joint exploration deal with Beijing to avoid conflict, and that someone “from China” had reminded him of this upon learning of other companies’ planned activities in the area.
Duterte added that the same person also warned him that Beijing would send soldiers to the West Philippine Sea should he deploy the military there.
The DOE order effectively stopped “all exploration activities” for Service Contracts 72 and 75—two sites off Palawan province earlier identified by the government as possible areas of joint energy exploration with Beijing—pending a go-signal from the Security, Justice and Peace Coordinating Cluster (SJPCC) which cited “the political, diplomatic and national security implications of any activity in the West Philippine Sea.”
In response to the suspension, PXP Energy Corp. and its subsidiary Forum Energy Ltd., which had been hired by the government to conduct exploration activities off Palawan, declared a force majeure, saying the order prevented them from performing their obligations.
Jay Batongbacal, the director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and the Law of the Sea, said it is clear China is bent on preventing any petroleum exploration and development by the Philippines within its own waters.
Other petroleum companies that see the government folding to Chinese threats may be discouraged from investing in future oil exploration in the Philippines. With no new indigenous sources of petroleum, the country would have to rely on imported liquefied natural gas to sustain power plants supplied by the depleting Malampaya gas field, a move that could drive up energy prices, Batongbacal added.
To be fair, China is an equal opportunity oppressor, and has sought to bully and harass other countries in the region as well to stop them from exploring for oil and gas in their own territory.
It may be instructive to learn, however, that not everyone in this region buys into Beijing’s “what’s yours is mine” policy. Both Malaysia and Indonesia have pushed through with their exploration activities despite threats from China.
We hope the next president will stand up for the country. Too much kowtowing is bad for the back—and our economy, too.