Former SAJ Antonio Carpio on President Duterte statement re WPS

Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia are asserting their sovereign rights to their maritime zones against China’s claims. These countries do not go to war against China, and neither does China go to war against these countries. A country does not need to go to war to assert its sovereign rights. There are lawful and peaceful means of asserting sovereign rights. War is not even option because the UN Charter outlaws resort to war to settle territorial or maritime disputes. Moreover, the Philippine Constitution renounces war as an instrument of national policy, which means the Philippines cannot go to war to enforce the arbitral ruling.

China does not possess Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) which is beyond the 12-nautical mile territorial seas of disputed islands or high-tide geologic features. Naval powers like the US, UK, France, Australia, Japan, and Canada regularly sail in our EEZ in the West Philippine Sea, proving that China is not in possession of our EEZ in the West Philippine Sea. The President should not say that China is in possession of our EEZ in the West Philippine Sea because factually China is not in possession.

Popular

PBBM underscores public cooperation as key to better disaster response

By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. reiterated his call on the citizenry to remain on constant alert and exercise vigilant measures at...

PBBM lauds eGov app’s impact on Filipinos, hints at upcoming features

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. recognized the indispensable role of the eGov app in fast-tracking and streamlining the digitalization of government transactions and services,...

What’s next for the Marcos admin? Key agencies tackle food security, economic dev’t post-SONA 2025

https://www.youtube.com/live/hXRnysWZ6SM?si=GGc-0MxxrP1SXsvE By Brian Campued President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has reported the situation of the country—along with his administration’s progress, gains, and challenges in the past...

PBBM lauds improvements in PH labor market

By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. praised the wide-ranging achievements made by his administration on bolstering the country’s domestic labor market over...