China, Philippines Discuss Joint Offshore Oil, Gas Exploration - Foreign Ministry

China and the Philippines discussed the possibility of joint offshore oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea, Chinese Foreign Ministry's Spokesman Geng Shuang said on Thursday

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th April, 2019) China and the Philippines discussed the possibility of joint offshore oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea, Chinese Foreign Ministry's Spokesman Geng Shuang said on Thursday.

"Under the precondition of respecting the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the two countries, the parties discussed the possibility of cooperation in offshore fields exploration," Geng said during a briefing, commenting on the results of the fourth round of the Sino-Philippine consultations on the South China Sea dispute.

The talks were held on Wednesday in Manila.

China and the Philippines have been in dispute over the South China Sea territories for decades, as some of the sea's islands are rich in carbons.

The most fierce disputes are held on the Spratly and Paracel islands. Furthermore, the South China Sea is a major shipping route and home to fishing grounds that supply livelihoods of many people across the region.

Beijing says it has historic claim to the territory, but in 2013, the Philippines sought international arbitration to settle the dispute, claiming that its geographical proximity to the Spratlys justified its claim to the islands. In 2016, the UN court backed the Philippines, but China boycotted the ruling.