An opposition lawmaker on Tuesday backed President Rodrigo Duterte’s move for a joint exploration agreement with China in the South China Sea. “We fully support and appreciate President Duterte’s plan to forge a 60-40 sharing agreement with China for the joint exploration of the South China Sea, rather than risk going to war with our superpower neighbor,” Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza, a senior deputy minority leader, said. Unlike the Benham Rise—which was undisputed and duly declared by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as part of Philippine territory—the islands in the South China Sea are still being contested with long-standing claims not just by the Philippines and China, but by a host of other countries as well, among them Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam,” Atienza added.

Cruz, M. V. (2018, May 2). Lawmaker wants 60-40 sharing pact with China. Manila Standard, p. A4.