THE PHILIPPINES is counting on the U.S. and its allies to play a crucial role in its plans to explore energy resources in the disputed South China Sea, according to Manila’s envoy to Washington.
The country is seeking to parlay its deepening security
ties with Washington into broader economic benefits, said Philippine Ambassador
to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez.
Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez |
“When the time comes that we are going to start exploring it, we’ll have the options to be able to see how we can secure the expedition,” Romualdez said in an interview in Manila. “We’re working closely with our allies, not only the U.S. but also Japan and Australia,” he said.
The Philippines is exploring several options in its quest
to tap the resource-rich South China Sea, waters that China claims almost in
its entirety. The body of water is estimated to hold significant quantities of
oil and gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Inviting U.S. companies to invest in the exploration as
well as development efforts and discussions with countries like Vietnam that
also have overlapping claims with China are among the possible courses of
action, he said.
The Philippines imports almost all its fuel needs and has
been trying for years to start energy exploration in the disputed waters,
including through a partnership with China. Negotiations between Manila and
Beijing have, however, stalled amid heightened tensions, with their coast guard
vessels recently clashing again at sea.
Amid its spat with China, the Southeast Asian nation is
enforcing a new strategy to defend its territory and economic interests. It has
also recently inked several security deals with countries like the UK,
Australia and Canada.
Calculated
Way
Now the Philippines and its allies are “moving in a
calculated way,” the envoy said declining to provide more details on the energy
plan, except to say that it will likely happen within President Ferdinand
Marcos Jr.’s term ending in 2028. “It’s part of our energy package,” he said,
referring to a broad strategy to bring power costs — among the highest in the
region — lower to attract investors.
As the Philippines builds its security alliances amid
tensions with Beijing, it wants these partnerships to yield more trade and
investment, said Romualdez. “While we have all these defense ties, the bottom
line is economic prosperity. If we do not have economic security, we can have
all these defense agreements and it would mean nothing to us,” the envoy, a
cousin of Marcos, said.
China is also keen on reaping benefits from the
resource-rich waters. President Xi Jinping has called on the military to align
its maritime strategy with economic development, in what may further intensify
its dispute with the Philippines.
Romualdez said Marcos is trying to leverage his rising
influence on the global stage to win deals for the country. Over the past year,
Marcos has deepened security ties with the U.S. The Philippine leader last
month addressed the Australian parliament and in May will be the keynote
speaker at regional security forum.
While the Philippines’ strong relations with the U.S. is
an advantage, competition for investment among Southeast Asian nations is
intense. Marcos has to prove that his government can provide a conducive
business environment including less red tape and lower electricity costs, the
envoy said.
High power costs remain one of the biggest hurdles for
investors, according to Romualdez, and is one of the incentives driving the
Philippines’ push to explore its own energy resources.
Marcos’s defense chief, Gilbert Teodoro, earlier this
year, said that it’s increasingly urgent for the Philippines to pursue resource
exploration in contested waters, as a key gas field nears depletion.
Last month, the nation’s foreign affairs secretary
signaled openness to energy talks with Beijing, while maintaining that Manila
would not yield control of any venture to China.
For Romualdez, the time for being soft with Beijing is
over. “What is ours is ours, and we’re not going to stop,” he said of the
nation’s plans to explore resources in its exclusive economic zone. “We’ll do
it when we feel like it’s time for us to do it,” he said. (By Andreo Calonzo
and Manolo Serapio Jr. / Bloomberg L.P.)
No comments:
Post a Comment