After 15 years, Philippine Supreme Court rules 2005 oil exploration deal with China, Vietnam is void

The three countries were to jointly research the petroleum resource potential in the South China Sea. - ST

MANILA (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): The highest court in the Philippines on Tuesday (Jan 10) declared as “unconstitutional and void” a 2005 exploration agreement in the South China Sea involving oil companies from the Philippines, China and Vietnam.

In a summary of its ruling, the Supreme Court said the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) among the Philippine National Oil Company, the China National Offshore Corporation and the Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation allowed wholly-owned foreign corporations to explore the Philippines’ natural resources “without observing constitutional safeguards”.