This paper performs a rhetorical analysis of the memorandum of understanding between China and the Philippines over oil and gas joint exploration, using theories from Kenneth Burke. This memorandum is analyzed using Burke’s theory of identification, the representative anecdote and the dramatistic pentad. The analysis with identification theory exemplifies the memorandum ability to show identification between the involved parties, the government of China and the Philippines. While the identification connects the consubstantiality to the content of the memorandum, the pentad explains how the involved parties are driven by a pursuit of idealistic goals and interests rooted in individuality. The final analysis demonstrates that the memorandum embraces more of a representative anecdote, as it can offer tools for living by showing a positive connection between reality and text, rather than a deflective one.