China’s interests in Spratlys beyond oil exploration

The seismic survey, under a tripartite agreement secretly signed by and between the Philippines, China and Vietnam, in the Spratlys could be misconstrued by the people as a means to expose the country’s sovereignty to foreign infiltration.

It can also be viewed by the international community as disguise of China to establish its hold on most parts of the Spratlys in the South China Sea. Many Filipinos are made to believe that the joint exploration for energy will be good for the country’s economy because, once the undertaking is successful, the country will benefit from it through huge revenues. But how sure are we that China will give us so much? One thing more, once the oil exploration begins in the area, China will construct its offshore platforms and other concrete facilities which could be permanent in nature. This will also give China and Vietnam the reason to post their own military to safeguard their interests in the area of operation.

Beyond this, do we know what China has in mind? Nobody can tell at this point in time if China is really serious in this joint undertaking. It could be, but we can’t avoid thinking that it has other motives other than oil exploration. For sure, China will be pouring billions of dollars in this joint project. That means that China is a major stakeholder in the oil exploration. Naturally, it has a major voice in whatever decisions that it should want to make related to the undertaking.

Unless, the Philippines asserts its position on this impending exploration by clearly examining what are stipulated in the agreement, the country’s interests in this project is not assured. And the officials who will represent the Philippine National Oil Company must have someone who is fluent in Mandarin for us to understand every detail in the contract of undertaking. At least, this will protect our political and economic interests in the Spratlys.

Now, I can say that China may have found out that most of the oil reserves based on its satellite findings are in the islands under the territorial jurisdiction of the Philippines. This is the reason why China is offering loans to the Philippines as a means of a trade off for its interests in the Spratlys. Your guess is as good as mine.