The Philippine and Chinese governments have agreed to resume talks on oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea at an 'early date' following the bilateral summit between President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Jan. 4.
In a joint statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Foreign Ministry said discussions would build upon the outcomes of the previous negotiations during the Duterte administration, 'with a view of benefiting the two countries and their peoples.'
'On oil and gas cooperation, both sides agreed to bear in mind the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Oil and Gas Development between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Philippines signed in 2018, and agreed to resume discussions on oil and gas development at an early date,' the statement read.
The two parties also agreed to explore cooperation in areas of solar power, wind energy, electric vehicles and nuclear energy for electricity generation, among others.
Talks on a possible oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea were terminated during the time of former President Rodrigo Duterte over constitutional constraints.
Source: Philippine News Agency
