Philippine top diplomat says open to resume oil talks with China

MANILA (Bloomberg): The Philippines is open to new talks with China on oil and gas exploration, the South-East Asian nation’s top diplomat said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s government is ready to resume discussions, but any deal will have to comply with Philippine laws, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo (pic) told lawmakers during his agency’s budget hearing on Wednesday (/Aug 31).

"We will be not agreeing to anything not in accordance with the Philippine Constitution. That will be our guiding principle,” Manalo said.

In June, Marcos’s predecessor Rodrigo Duterte ended talks with Beijing on oil exploration in the South China Sea, with then foreign affairs chief Teodoro Locsin saying discussions have gone as far as "it is constitutionally possible to go.”