The Philippines is willing to consider a joint mineral exploration with China in the disputed South China Sea despite overlapping claims of the area. President Duterte has earlier announced he is open to “sharing” resources with China after admitting the country is unable to afford exploring the mineral resources on its own. “Hindi naman ako madamot. Ang gusto kong kunin ang lahat, wala naman tayong pang-capital. Even in the rigs and everything, we cannot afford it. Baka sharing-sharing na lang [I am not selfish. Even if I wanted to extract everything, we don’t have the capital. Even in the rigs and everything, we cannot afford it. I would consider sharing instead],” Duterte said in a gathering of lawyers in Pasay City Thursday night.

Kabiling, G. D., & Mabasa, R. C. (2017, March 25). Wealth-sharing with China eyed. Manila Bulletin, pp. 1, 14.