MOU only “an agreement to agree” on joint development, he says
(Eagle News) — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Thursday, Nov. 23, denied the Philippines and China would start a joint exploration in the South China Sea.
In an interview over CNN Philippines, Locsin said the Philippines-China Memorandum of Understanding on Oil and Gas Development, which he said he wrote himself and which Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez gave directly to Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi, aims to look into the possible ways for energy cooperation between both countries.
For this, he said a “intergovernmental steering” committee co-chaired by foreign ministries, and “one and more working groups” were created.
Each working group will “negotiate and agree on inter-entrepreneurial, technical, and commercial arrangements that will apply in the relevant working area,” Locsin said.
“All discussions, negotiations, and activities of the two governments, or the authorized enterprises under or pursuant to this Memorandum of Understanding will be, without prejudice to the respective legal positions of both governments,” Locsin added, reading from the MOU.
He said the MOU “does not create rights or obligations under international or domestic law.”
Senator Francis Escudero has said a pact allowing for a Philippine-China joint exploration could affect both countries’ positions in the West Philippine Sea.
Opposition senators have called for transparency in the 29 pacts signed by China and the Philippines, including the pact on joint oil and gas development.
