60-40

“Economic gains of the joint exploration are far more beneficial to both countries than wasting their time and energy over thorny ownership claims, an issue that would take both countries a lifetime to resolve.

President Rodrigo Duterte broke the information that China is willing to nod on the proposed 60-40 sharing in the planned joint oil and gas exploration in the West Philippine Sea.

Howls sounded over the possible further incursions of China — first, it is our marine resources, fishing and raking our precious corals, and now the 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 11 billion barrels of oil.

After turning a blind eye on the military buildup in the artificial islands they have put up and other infrastructure in contested areas, the country will witness the giant oil rigs rising right on our claimed sea territories soon.

A joint steering committee had been constituted and a memorandum of understanding-terms of reference on the cooperation on the exploration was signed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and his Chinese counterparts in November last year.

Recently, howls became louder over the President’s willingness to ignore the 2016 The Hague arbitral ruling that deleted the nine-dash line off China’s drawing board back in favor of the 60-40.

“Ignoring” is a bit strong word for the President’s intentions.

“Setting aside” probably would better describe his statement.

But we have been setting aside that “legal victory.” Are we foreseeing that day when China would obligingly dismantle their infrastructure and with bowed heads leave the West Philippine Seas in silence and obeisance? Kidding?

Of course, China never recognized such ruling in the first place.

Furthermore, and in fact, such ruling may never be implemented, since in the first place, there is no “international police” to enforce the ruling.

Besides, doing so would mean putting countries into belligerent posturing. We cannot afford a global conflict over these sea claims.

Hence, the arbitral ruling after all is a false victory. And it is worth ignoring or setting aside.

Furthermore, the 60-40 arrangement is a political statement of sovereignty since the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article XII limits foreign investment ownership to 40 percent. The spirit of the law is, of course, recognition and protection of our sovereignty.

Many administrations in the past had tried to amend this provision since it limits the country’s productivity and development. Yet, most of the country’s advocates are in disagreement, all in the name of protecting our economic integrity from foreign manipulative economic schemes.

China’s acceding to a 60-40 agreement could mean recognizing Philippine sovereignty over the sea territories.

Ownership is quite distinct from sovereignty.

No doubt, however, the giant panda admits to the legitimacy of our claims, but would rather not sit on it, when the exploration and utilization of the natural resources in the contested areas are waiting to be tapped.

Both countries, Philippines and China, have 105 million and 1.5 billion mouths to feed, respectively. The economic gains of the joint exploration are far more beneficial to both countries than wasting their time and energy over thorny ownership claims, an issue that would take both countries a lifetime to resolve.

Both leaders, Duterte and Xi Jinping have crossed the politics of ownership claims and made the most pragmatic approach to the West Philippine Sea issue, namely, economics over politics.

There are many mouths that rant unproductively over such issues, but there are more millions of mouths to feed.

I guess, this is what Duterte and Xi Ping prefer.