The Philippines and China have agreed to set up a special panel to work out how they can jointly explore oil and gas in part of the South China Sea that both sides lay claim without having to address the explosive issue of sovereignty. China claims most of the South China Sea, where $3 billion in sea-borne trade pass every year and has competing claims in various parts of it with Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. “It’s just the start of a process,” Philippine ambassador to China, Jose Santiago “Chito” L. Sta. Romana, told reporters late on Tuesday after diplomats from both sides met for the second time under a bilateral mechanism aimed at defusing long-standing maritime tensions.

Balinbin, A. (2018, February, 15). Manila, Beijing work out how to tap oil, gas in South China Sea areas they both claim. BusinessWorld, pp. S1/1, S1/3.