‘Too much, too soon,’ expert warns on PH-China sea study

(ISEAS YUSOF ISHAK  INSTITUE file photo)
 )
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY — A maritime expert has questioned  Malacañang’s pronouncement that it is considering a “joint exploration” with China for potential energy deposits in an undisputed Philippine territory some 50 kilometers off Busuanga town in Palawan province, identified as Service Contract (SC) 57.
Lawyer Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said in a social media post that the government’s plan to include the area in a deal offer made by China to jointly explore the Reed Bank area in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) was “giving too much, too soon” to the country’s favored neighbor.

Batongbacal was referring to an announcement made by President Rodrigo Duterte last week in Marawi City, and later clarified by Malacañang spokesperson Harry Roque, that the administration was considering China’s offer to explore both SC 57 and Reed Bank (SC 72). (Inquirer)

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