14 March 2005 – Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto G. Romulo called the signing today of an agreement between and among the national oil companies of the Philippines, China and Vietnam on a joint survey in agreed areas in the South China Sea, as a “watershed for regional diplomacy.”

The agreement of the three parties – the Philippine National Oil Corporation, China National Offshore Oil Company and Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation  – to conduct a joint marine seismic undertaking in agreed areas in the South China Sea indicates “the growing level of trust and confidence among claimants and their commitment to pursue peaceful options on the issue.”

Secretary Romulo emphasized that the Philippines will work closely with China and Vietnam to facilitate the timely and smooth implementation of the agreement.

“This is a diplomatic breakthrough in our bilateral and multilateral efforts to approach the issue in the spirit of dialogue and cooperation, in the context of the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct (DoC) of Parties in the South China Sea,” Secretary Romulo said.

He emphasized that the joint activity is a model-setting approach for the complex issues in the South China Sea and a step that brings the parties closer towards the peaceful, permanent and comprehensive resolution of the territorial disputes and overlapping maritime boundaries in the area.

Secretary Romulo pointed out that the Philippines is pursuing the realization of a more binding code of conduct in the area and welcomes actual cooperative endeavors between and among claimant states to affirm the political commitment enshrined in the DoC.  END
 

/jay