The Philippines and China are discussing joint exploration in the South China Sea and working on ways to make it legally acceptable, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said yesterday. “Right now we haven’t discussed and we’re not discussing development. We’re discussing exploration first,” Cayetano said in a press conference. He cited as precedent the joint marine seismic undertaking of the Philippines, Vietnam, and China which ended in July 2008.

Lee-Brago, P., Laude, J., & Cervantes, D. (2018, February 17). Phl won't recognize Chinese names for Rise features. The Philippines Star, p. 2.