Carpio: South China Sea narrative is ‘totally false’

By Neska Centina

In response to remarks by President Rodrigo Duterte referring to China as “co-owners” of the West Philippine Sea, acting Supreme Court Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, who spoke during last week’s University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos (UNO-R) College of Law Barristers’ Night, called for a continued fight over the disputed waters.

“Even if it takes a thousand years, we should keep on fighting to preserve what belongs to us,” he stated. “[Duterte] cannot say, China, you can get half of that.”

Carpio cited the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which gives the Philippines exclusive sovereign right to explore and exploit resources in the area’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

He went on to say the “South China Sea narrative” is “totally false.”

“We have to teach everybody that the West Philippine Sea belongs to us,” Carpio stressed.

“We need the support of the world,” he added. “We have to ask the rest of the countries to help us.”

Meanwhile, College of Law Dean John Paolo Villasor called Carpio the “foremost expert in the law of the seas.”

“It is a ‘David versus Goliath’ story but, if the Philippines plays it smart, we can win,” he noted./NC, WDJ