Palace urged to conduct ‘diplomatic exploration’ with China

MANILA, Philippines - Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez urged Malacañang yesterday to authorize a group that will conduct “diplomatic exploration” with China to pave the way for joint development of the oil-rich Recto Bank in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea).

Alvarez said the country needs new sources of cheap oil and at least one major Philippine firm – Forum Energy, a consortium led by businessmen Manuel Pangilinan and Enrique Razon – has expressed willingness to partner with the China National Offshore Oil Corp. in exploring Recto Bank.

“If it were up to Chinese and Filipino private firms, the joint oil exploration is a cinch, but for them to agree on the terms, a different kind of exploration, the diplomatic kind, must be pursued on the government side,” he said.

The lawmaker urged Malacañang to give the “green light such as reaching out by Filipino government officials to their Chinese counterparts on how the two nations can cooperate in developing Recto Bank.”

Recto Bank contains potential reserves of 3.4 trillion cubic feet of gas and 440 million barrels of oil.

Alvarez cited Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing’s call for both countries to push ahead with a plan to explore oil and gas in the area.

Pangilinan’s Philex Mining and Razon’s Monte Oro Resources and Energy are joint holders of Service Contract No. 72, the state-granted exploration franchise covering 80,000 hectares in Recto Bank, which lies within the 330-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ) under the Philippine Archipelagic Baselines Law.

“It is time for public statements of our leaders to be translated into official diplomatic directives,” Alvarez said, but clarified that the marching orders “must be issued quietly because the last thing we need now is to conduct talks through the media and by press releases.”