Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 12) — China has maintained that its 2005 energy exploration agreement with Philippine and Vietnamese oil firms helped develop maritime cooperation, after the Philippine Supreme Court declared the deal as unconstitutional.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the tripartite agreement “played an important role in promoting stability, cooperation, and development in the region.”

“It was an important step by the three countries to implement the DOC (Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea) and a useful experiment for maritime cooperation between parties to the South China Sea,” he said.

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On Tuesday, the Supreme Court nullified the 2005 Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) among state-owned oil companies of the Philippines, China, and Vietnam involving a 142,886-square kilometer area in the South China Sea.

The high court voided the deal, which expired in 2008, for allowing wholly owned foreign corporations to participate in the exploration of Philippine natural resources without observing constitutional safeguards.

Despite the ruling, Wang said China will continue to actively explore ways for “practical maritime cooperation,” including energy exploration with the Philippines.

He also noted that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to resume talks on a joint oil and gas venture in the West Philippine Sea — something the Duterte administration began in 2018 but terminated last year.

“During Philippine President Marcos’s recent visit to China, the two sides agreed to bear in mind the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Oil and Gas Development signed in 2018 and resume discussions on oil and gas development at an early date, building upon the outcomes of the previous talks, with a view of benefiting the two countries and their peoples,” Wang told reporters.

Meanwhile, fisherfolk group Pamalakaya said the Supreme Court decision strengthens calls against any efforts to revive such negotiations between Manila and Beijing.

“The Marcos administration should adhere and recognize this ruling by way of actively asserting our sovereign rights against China’s aggression,” it wrote in a statement on Thursday.

The group earlier said many Filipino fishermen are still unable to fish freely and lose a sizable amount of income due to the continued presence of Chinese forces in Philippine waters.

“We now have two strong legal bases to assert our territory; the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea that recognizes our exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea, and the SC decision declaring the unconstitutionality of joint venture with China,” Pamalakaya added. “The Marcos administration has no reason not to actively uphold our national sovereignty.”