Do you agree with the proposed joint exploration of Philippines and China on WPS?
JOINT EXPLORATION – The proposed Philippines-China joint exploration of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) gathers different reactions from the people.
Despite the arbitration ruling siding on the Philippines, China has not fully given up its claims over the disputed area, the West Philippine Sea.
Tracing back, it was under the administration of former President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III when the claims over the disputed territories intensified and an arbitration case based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was filed.
The arbitration ruling was released when former Pres. Aquino was no longer the national leader. During that time, Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte was having his first months as the Chief Executive when the arbitration ruling came out.
Pres. Rodrigo Duterte has continued to assert the ownership of the Philippines in a peaceful way. He assigned special envoys to China. Former Pres. Fidel V. Ramos accepted the offer to be the envoy of PH to China.
On the other side of the issue, China also visibly continues to assert its claims over the West Philippine Sea. There were several times when Chinese vessels were spotted on the contested areas.
Recently, Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and former Pres. Noynoy Aquino exchanged open letters over the West Philippine Sea issue. The former raised questions about what happened during the latter’s administration with regards to the territorial dispute.
Aside from questioning the former President, Foreign Affairs Sec. Cayetano has also aired his side on the proposed joint exploration of the contested areas.
Based on a report on CNN, he expressed that “all parties have to set aside for the meantime their claims on territory and sovereign rights to have joint exploration.”
Furthermore, the DFA Secretary added that the joint exploration will not be pushed through if Philippines and China will not stop from asserting their claims over the areas.
“Let’s stop fighting, let’s start drilling,” Cayetano said based on a report.
Are you in favor of the proposed joint exploration of the West Philippine Sea by the Philippines and China? Feel free to share your thoughts through comments. Also, you may share this post in case you don’t agree on the proposed PH-China joint exploration.
