Duterte offers more than 1/3 control of the joint venture with China.
President Rodrigo Duterte is bent on avoiding war with China at all cost to the point of giving it a bugger share of the vast oil and gas reserves to be extracted in the disputed area of the West Philippine Sea.
In a speech during the launch of the commercial operation of the Alegria oil find in Cebu, Duterte said he was willing to give the Chinese a bigger share just to avoid going into a war which he was convinced would be a massacre for Filipinos.
“We don’t have to fight. We can divide this in a joint development, joint exploration. And then we’ll give you a bigger share rather than fight,” said Duterte.
The President’s latest remark veered widely off his initial declaration in February that the Philippines would demand a tw-thirds share of any join exploration of the oil and gas reserves in Recto Bank, which is inside the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines where all activities have been suspended since 2014 due to the Aquino adminisration’s dispute with China.
In a speech before Filipino-Chinese businessmen and the Chinese ambassador Monday night, Duterte said: “And I told them (Chinese officials), in front of Cabinet members, General (Eduardo) Año, General (Delfin) Lorenzana, Secretary (Salvador) Medialdea. Sabi ko in a bilateral table,’I want you to know that I am going there to drill oil because that is ours’. Sabi ng China, ‘Well, we understand that we have this problem. But we do not think that it would be the right time now to talk about trouble. Maybe sometime. So good riddance.’ China now has offered to us for a joint exploration.”
“Kasi ‘yung oil — joint naman. ‘Yung oil mo dito mo ang pinakamarami. Two-third sa amin, one-third kayo, mayaman naman kayo eh,” said Duterte.
Duterte said the issue of oil and gas exploration in Recto Bank should only be the concern of Filipinos and Chinese and not the Americans.
“It’s only America who’s worried because they lost a territory. You’re the ones who came first. I was just new and then you adapted the rascal’s propaganda,” said Duterte.
Source is bilyonaryo. Source link is : http://bilyonaryo.com.ph/2018/05/20/from-2-3-control-duterte-now-willing-to-give-china-bigger-share-of-west-philippine-sea-spoils-just-to-avoid-war/