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Alexis Romero - The Philippine Star
March 26, 2026 | 12:00am
President Marcos shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — Will a war in the Middle East pave the way for a deal between the parties in a bitter maritime dispute?
President Marcos has raised the possibility that the US and Israeli war against Iran could provide an “impetus” for the Philippines and China to reach a deal in jointly developing oil and gas resources in the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippines and China are embroiled in a longstanding row over South China Sea areas that are within Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf.
Despite the dispute, Marcos and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to resume discussions on oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea during a bilateral summit in 2023.
“That’s something we’ve been talking about a great deal, but territorial disputes are getting in the way of that. Maybe this provides impetus for both sides to come to an agreement. That’s something we are exploring. Everything that might be of help we are certainly pursuing,” Marcos told Bloomberg News last Tuesday.
Asked whether there is a reason to think that a reset in relations with China is needed given the geopolitical chaos, Marcos said: “I think it’s certainly going to happen; it’s happening now. There’s going to be a very, very serious restructuring.”
“I was watching Prime Minister (Lawrence) Wong from Singapore saying we will have to redraw all, even our legal relationships and international law. There will have to be a new normal,” he added.
Marcos said he sees a “realignment” taking place “at first in the Middle East” and its effect would be on trade relations.
“We also have to remember we have an enormous population in the Middle East. We have over two million Filipinos working in the Gulf countries and (are) very seriously affected as well. One of our biggest sources of income is remittances we get not only from OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) in the Middle East but also around the world,” he added.
Marcos said other countries are honoring their contracts with the Philippines, citing its importation of fertilizer from Indonesia and China, refined fuel from Japan and South Korea and oil from Malaysia. The Philippines is also exploring possible fuel supply deals with China or Russia.
“China, we always had a trading relationship with and that’s ongoing, and we are trying to increase that supply. Russia is not a traditional supplier of crude oil to the Philippines or any energy supply, but we are exploring that as well,” the President said.
“Basically, we are trying anything, everything to secure supply because that’s the one thing that we can do about. The pricing is going to be a much more difficult challenge because everyone is a price taker when it comes to oil,” he added.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said that while there is no directive yet from the President to restart the energy supply talks with China, it may be forthcoming.
