Securing the sovereignty, sovereign rights, and the Philippines’ territorial jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) should be cornerstone of all the discussions including energy exploration matters, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Friday.

The President was reacting to China’s announcement that its China National Offshore Oil Corp. made an oilfield discovery with a volume of 100 million tons in the South China Sea.

President Marcos made the comment when asked during a media interview in Prague if there is a plan to revive the negotiations for joint oil exploration with China following the reported oil discovery.

“Well, look, once again the sovereignty and the sovereign rights and our territorial jurisdiction remain the key in all of these talks and we cannot, we cannot at any point somehow compromise the territorial integrity of the Philippines,” Marcos told reporters.

“So that is going to be the main principle behind any kind of talks that we might have. So, depending on areas that we are talking about, that will come into play. So let me leave it at that. That is the guiding principle that I’m following whenever it comes to all of these things,” he stressed.

President Marcos also brushed off Chinese accusations that the Philippines is instigating disputes in the region.

President Marcos said he is not aware of any instance when the Philippines “has instigated anything, at any point, both verbally, or militarily, or diplomatically.”

“We did not begin all of these problems. All of these commotions were not caused by the Philippines. So, I don’t know what they are referring to,” he said. *PND*