Carpio on South China Sea dispute: We have advanced tremendously

Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio believes that the Philippines has "advanced tremendously" in connection with a maritime dispute over the South China Sea.

"This is a long-term struggle. Where are we now? We have advanced tremendously. We have the ruling," Carpio said in an interview with political analyst Richard Heydarian on Friday.

He was referring to the landmark 2016 decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that held that China has "no legal basis" to "claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the ‘nine-dash line’".

"The ruling is being enforced by the naval powers, and the South China Sea can never become a Chinese lake because of that," Carpio said.

The senior justice, a vocal advocate of the Philippines' maritime claims, also cited as a development the memorandum of understanding on oil and gas development that Beijing and Manila have signed.

The document, he said, envisions a service contract-type agreement on oil and gas development -- a route that allows income splitting without China encroaching on Philippine sovereign rights.

"The way I look at it, we are progressing. The naval powers of the world have increased their freedom of navigation and overflight operations," Carpio said.

"The tempo of these operations have increased tremendously under the Trump administration. They're worried, they don't want China to control the South China Sea."

When asked for advice to the Philippine government, Carpio suggested: "We should be careful with our words, the president and the foreign minister, that we do not unintentionally waive anything."

In particular, Carpio said that President Rodrigo Duterte "should be very careful" as his statements on disputes may bind the country under the doctrine of unilateral declaration.

The senior justice recalled Duterte announcing that he will set aside the landmark arbitral ruling. "That is a statement by a head of state against the interest of the country on a dispute, and if China accepted that, we are bound, we will be bound," he said.

Carpio said Duterte's statement prompted him to advise the Department of Foreign Affairs to clarify the president's remarks, lest it be construed as an official abandonment of the international court's decision.

"Had we not come out then, we would have been bound by the declaration because China would raise that," the justice said.

Carpio was part of the legal team that argued the Philippines' case before the Hague-based PCA.

Filipinos, too, must ensure that they do not waive any of their sovereign rights, and educate themselves and the world that China has "no historic right to the South China Sea," he said.

"If China can seize the EEZ (exclusive economic zone) of the Philippines, coastal states which are weak militarily will also suffer at the hands of their stronger neighbors," Carpio said. —LDF, GMA News