The government of the Philippines insists that it is not abandoning its legal claim to disputed sections of the West Philippine Sea, even though it has begun implementing an agreement with China on joint exploration for oil and gas in the area.
Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. said on September 11 that the establishment of an inter-governmental steering committee on this project would not affect Manila’s position on the territorial dispute. “The terms of reference really just [flesh] out the memorandum of agreement, which is very clear: No legal position of either side is compromised when you enter into this agreement,” he said.
Locsin said that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had stressed this point during a visit to Beijing last month. Duterte told Chinese officials he would not set aside or amend an arbitration court’s ruling stating that the disputed areas belonged to the Philippines and not to China, he explained.