Sea deadlock dampens oil hunt

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said the Philippines is trying its best to settle "exploration issues" in the West Philippine Sea, to begin new energy exploration projects in the resource-rich waterway.

In an interview with the Japanese media on Saturday evening, Marcos stated that there has been a "real challenge" to its Asian neighbors from a "more assertive China" and that tensions in the South China Sea have "increased rather than diminished" in recent months.

After decades of conflict over sovereign rights to develop natural resources in the contested region, the Philippines and China have reopened talks on working together to explore oil and gas possibilities in the South China Sea.

However, Marcos said that there has been "very little progress" in the talks.

"We are still at a deadlock right now. It is in a conflict area. So, that's another thing that we have to try and resolve to see what role any countries play," Marcos said as he asserted his country's right to use the energy supplies in the West Philippine Sea.

The West Philippine Sea, or WPS, is the name given by Manila to the area of the South China Sea that falls under its Exclusive Economic Zone, or EEZ.

Finding a legally sound means of working together on energy exploration has proven to be a recurring obstacle; in June of last year, the previous administration called off negotiations, citing concerns about sovereignty and constitutional limitations.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte ended the WPS oil and gas talks with China in 2022, claiming that despite both parties' best efforts, the nation's goal of developing its oil and gas resources had not been met.

When Marcos took office as president in 2022, he said that the Philippines would keep looking for alternative avenues to explore for oil and would even turn away from talks with other governments.

Twin roadblocks

He referred to the protracted maritime conflict and constitutional issues as roadblocks in talks between China and the Philippines for a joint oil exploration project.

Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Philippine President Marcos expressed their desire to continue talking about oil and gas drilling in the WPS in January 2023.