MANILA: The Philippines and China have formed a panel to study ways of jointly exploring energy resources in the disputed part of the South China Sea.
“It’s a technical working group that will study the possibility of joint oil and gas cooperation. What they will look into is if they can come to some arrangement that will be acceptable to both sides not giving up their claims,” Philippine Ambassador to China Chito Sta. Romana told Arab News.
The panel was formed during the second meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea in Manila on Tuesday.
Both sides agreed to continue discussions on confidence-building measures to increase trust and confidence and to exercise restraint in activities in the South China Sea that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability.
A joint statement released after the meeting said that there was a productive exchange of views on ways to strengthen cooperation in areas such as marine environmental protection, fisheries, marine scientific research and oil and gas, without prejudicing respective positions on sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.
Sta. Romana said that the panel had its initial meeting on the same day. It is comprised of representatives from the Philippines’ Department of Energy and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“It’s the start of a process,” Sta. Romana said, as he admitted that a joint exploration in the disputed waters was a “complex issue” that required thoroughly looking into ways to proceed without having to address the issue of sovereignty.
“The most significant thing is that the two sides are talking about it, but what the result will be is hard to say,” he said.
“Both sides will have to exchange ideas,” Sta. Romana further said. “It’s complicated. There are many sensitive issues. So, how to come to a mutually acceptable arrangement that will satisfy both sides and the legal aspects, that’s what they will be working on, but at least we’re talking.”
DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano reiterated the Duterte administration’s commitment to protect the country’s claim on the disputed territories in the South China Sea.
“The Duterte administration is unwavering in its commitment to protect our country’s territorial claims and maritime entitlements. Let me also say that we are of the position that ongoing territorial disputes should be resolved in a manner consistent with the spirit of good neighborly relations and the 1982 UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea),” he said.
Cayetano said the Philippine side raised its territorial claims and sovereignty rights issues, and discussed how to manage and prevent incidents on the ground.
“Both sides expressed their countries’ respective positions on the ongoing territorial disputes. While there are points of disagreement, both delegations are in agreement that the best way forward is to cooperate and properly manage issues of mutual concern and preserve security and stability in the region,” he said.
The DFA official was not optimistic that joint exploration could ease tensions in the South China Sea. “You have to combine optimism and caution here,” he said.
Philippines, China working out joint oil exploration in South China Sea
Philippines, China working out joint oil exploration in South China Sea
Trump administration labels 3 Muslim Brotherhood branches as terrorist organizations
- The State Department designated the Lebanese branch a foreign terrorist organization
- “These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence,” Rubio said
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration has made good on its pledge to label three Middle Eastern branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, imposing sanctions on them and their members in a decision that could have implications for US relationships with allies Qatar and Turkiye.
The Treasury and State departments announced the actions Tuesday against the Lebanese, Jordanian and Egyptian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which they said pose a risk to the United States and American interests.
The State Department designated the Lebanese branch a foreign terrorist organization, the most severe of the labels, which makes it a criminal offense to provide material support to the group. The Jordanian and Egyptian branches were listed by Treasury as specially designated global terrorists for providing support to Hamas.
“These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilization wherever it occurs,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.”
Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were mandated last year under an executive order signed by Trump to determine the most appropriate way to impose sanctions on the groups, which US officials say engage in or support violence and destabilization campaigns that harm the United States and other regions.
Muslim Brotherhood leaders have said they renounce violence.
Trump’s executive order had singled out the chapters in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, noting that a wing of the Lebanese chapter had launched rockets on Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel that set off the war in Gaza. Leaders of the group in Jordan have provided support to Hamas, the order said.
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 but was banned in that country in 2013. Jordan announced a sweeping ban on the Muslim Brotherhood in April.
Nathan Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, said some allies of the US, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, would likely be pleased with the designation.
“For other governments where the brotherhood is tolerated, it would be a thorn in bilateral relations,” including in Qatar and Turkiye, he said.
Brown also said a designation on the chapters may have effects on visa and asylum claims for people entering not just the US but also Western European countries and Canada.
“I think this would give immigration officials a stronger basis for suspicion, and it might make courts less likely to question any kind of official action against Brotherhood members who are seeking to stay in this country, seeking political asylum,” he said.
Trump, a Republican, weighed whether to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization in 2019 during his first term in office. Some prominent Trump supporters, including right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, have pushed his administration to take aggressive action against the group.
Two Republican-led state governments — Florida and Texas — designated the group as a terrorist organization this year.
