Spratly joint survey deal signed

Spratly joint survey deal signed

PHILIPPINES: The national oil companies of the Philippines, China and Vietnam on Monday signed an accord to conduct a joint seismic survey of the Spratly islands, a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea.

The three-year survey will provide clues for the potential oil and gas reserves in the area, which is claimed by China, Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia, said Eduardo Manalac, president of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co.

He described the agreement as a purely "commercial transaction that has no reference to political claims or territorial rights."

A spokesman for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo hailed the deal as "a model-setting approach on the South China Sea issue and on forging partnerships on energy security."

Manalac said the three companies, which also include China National Offshore Oil Corp. and Vietnam Oil & Gas Corp., were still working out the budget for the pre-exploration activity, but that it would be shared equally.

China and Vietnam, which both have built permanent structures in the Spratlys, clashed over the island group in 1988 and 1992. Other countries have had skirmishes. Two years ago, China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations adopted a non- binding declaration that forbids construction on uninhabited islands to prevent territorial disputes from escalating. -- AP