MANILA — Approving oil exploration in the Reed (Recto) Bank would test President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s resolve to defend the country's territory, former Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Wednesday.

Speaking to ANC, Carpio said he was "surprised" that Marcos has adopted a policy to assert the 2016 arbitral award and not give up any part of the country's territory.

But the "litmus test" for Marcos, he said, is: "Can we get the gas in Reed Bank?"

The Arroyo administration approved a joint exploration deal among Philippine, Chinese and Vietnamese firms in the South China Sea in 2005, which the Supreme Court ruled in January was unconstitutional.

The Philippines and China also in March hinted at preliminary talks on a possible joint venture in oil. The Duterte administration held similar discussions with China but abandoned them because of limitations set by the Constitution.

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Carpio has repeatedly warned that it is urgent that the Philippines extract fuel from the Reed Bank — said to be rich in oil and gas deposits — to avert possible devastating effects on the economy.

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He pointed out that the Malampaya gas field — which supplies 40 percent of the energy requirement of Luzon — is running out.

Without gas supply from Malampaya and Reed Bank, the Philippines might be forced to import more, which he said is "very expensive."

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CARPIO: MALAYSIA, INDONESIA HAVE DONE IT

Reed Bank, also known as Recto Bank, is within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone located northwest of Palawan.

In the interview, Carpio said the country's neighbors such as Malaysia and Indonesia were able to conduct oil exploration within their exclusive economic zones despite "threats of war" from China, which claims almost the entire South China Sea and disregards Manila's arbitral victory.

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"It takes four years to develop Reed Bank, and Malampaya is running out of gas already. It used to supply our three largest gas-fired plants," he said.

"Now it's supplying only two. And maybe at the end of this year only one. So we really have to make a move now."

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