THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has confirmed that talks with China on possible joint oil and gas exploration are being revived, confirming what many Filipinos feared.
At a time of heightened tensions in the West Philippine Sea, and amid serious concerns and opposition raised by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, legal experts, civil society, coastal communities, and our fishers, this move is deeply troubling. It appears that the DFA, which it said is acting on behalf of the President, is the only one pushing this forward.
This raises a fundamental question: why now? Joint exploration will not deliver immediate benefits or address the urgency of the oil crisis. These projects take years to produce results. And why with China, which continues to undermine our sovereign and maritime rights, when other partners are available?
We recognize the need to strengthen energy security amid the global oil crisis. But this must not come at the expense of our sovereignty.
We call on the DFA to fully disclose the nature, scope, and status of these talks. Any negotiation involving our natural resources is not private, it is a public matter. Transparency must be a core principle of foreign policy. Without it, the DFA’s claims of protecting sovereignty or upholding the Constitution cannot be meaningfully verified by the people.
If the DFA is confident that these talks serve the Filipino people, it should have no hesitation in laying everything on the table.
- Akbayan President Rafaela David
