Viewing South China Sea as zone of peace: Inquirer columnist

An MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter launches during flight operations aboard the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the South China Sea July 17, 2020. - Reuters

MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN): The Philippines and China have already signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) and the terms of reference (TOR) to jointly cooperate in exploiting the oil and gas in the West Philippines Sea.

The missing element is the commercial agreement between China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and Forum Energy on how they can partner to implement Service Contract 72 over Reed Bank, the site of the largest gas deposit of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea.