MANILA - Malacañang on Friday maintained that the proposal of the Philippines to conduct a joint exploration with China in the disputed South China Sea follows the Constitution.

This, after critics warned such a move could diminish Manila’s claim to the resource-rich sea.

“We are following the specific provision in the Constitution that foreigners can participate on a 60-40 basis, meaning 60-percent Filipino-owned, 40 percent foreign-owned,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.

Foreign Affairs Chief Alan Peter Cayetano said the Duterte administration is working on a framework for possible oil exploration with China where companies can work on a commercial level without damaging the country’s claims.

• Philippines has no secret meetings, deals with China: Cayetano

Cayetano clarified that the framework will not go beyond what the Philippine Constitution allows and that it will follow as standard the Malampaya 60-40 sharing of revenues for the Philippines.

Manila’s top diplomat said the Chinese “seems amenable” to it.

Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, one of the leading experts on the South China Sea dispute who has been pushing for Manila’s claims, said he sees nothing wrong with the proposed joint exploration as long as Manila asserts its sovereign rights.

• PH-China joint exploration in S. China Sea OK if sovereign rights upheld - Carpio

Manila is now racing to tap oil resources in the disputed sea as the Malampaya natural gas field off Palawan can only supply gas up to 2029.

The previous administration, which also hailed China to a United Nations-backed tribunal over the dispute, has refused to conduct joint exploration and exploitation with Beijing, saying the latter only wants to play by it rules.