Expanding the Chinese strategy in Sona, says Carpio in Duterte

Antonio Carpio -EDIN BACASMAS

President Duterte should clarify in his speech on the state of the nation (Sona) on Monday his strategy on territorial conflict with China after a Social Weather Station (SWS) A poll found that 9 out of 10 Filipinos wanted the Philippines to find the Philippine Sea islands that Beijing had seized, interim chief justice Antonio Carpio said on Sunday.

"I think that Is a message to the administration Duterte listen to people and that they can not put aside the arbitral decision, "said Carpio.

" It's really overwhelming. Filipino people do not buy appeasement policy that if we apply the arbitral award, it means war [with China]"he said.

" They must take immediate steps to enforce the It can not not be delayed because people are already aware of their sovereign rights in the Western Philippines Sea. They do not want him to be put aside, "he added.

UN Decision

Carpio was referring to the Permanent Court's decision The Hague arbitration panel of 12 July 2016 invalidated China's claim on virtually all of the South China Sea and recognized Philippine sovereignty over the Philippine Sea, in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 370 kilometers from the country on the heavily contested water path.

weeks after the president took office.Instead of seeking the help of the international community to implement the decision, the president set aside in exchange for aid, loans and investment from China

It was important to recover the islands belonging to the Philippines that Beijing had seized and transformed into bases

The survey, conducted from June 27 to 30, was consistent with the results of a previous survey that showed that 80% of Filipinos were opposed. The president's position on the territorial dispute with China

On Sunday, the presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that the administration was in agreement with the Filipinos' desire to recover the Philippine islands that had been seized by China

seeking to assert our sovereign rights and our land claims in the Philippine Sea of ​​the West, "said Roque

" Dialogue with China " [19659004] However, the Duterte administration will continue these initiatives by engaging with China.

"We have moved to a process of conciliation and friendly dialogue with China using a bilateral consultation mechanism to resolve problems by strengthening our surveillance capacity. Carpio will participate in Monday's joint session of Congress, which the President will deliver for the third time since taking office.

César Pareja, Secretary General of the House of Representatives, said: Sunday, Carpio had confirmed his presence.

Asked whether the president should discuss the territorial dispute in his speech, Carpio said, "Yes, it is an urgent problem." It is a very important question because we let's talk here about a vast maritime area larger than our total area. "

" He should tell the Filipino people what his plan is to enforce the decision so that we all know it ".

Step Two

Carpio, a member of the legal team who won the arbitration award for the Philippines, said that the Duterte administration should now focus on the second stage of the settlement of the territorial dispute with China.

He said that Manila had already won the maritime dispute against Beijing when the arbitral tribunal recognized its EEZ as defined by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"I am encouraged by this investigation because it means that … once [the Filipinos] are aware of their sovereign rights, they will never give up, they will never allow any administration to grant their sovereign rights to another country, "he said. said.

Carpio expressed confidence that the strong public opinion on the issue would strengthen the demand of the Philippines and abandon it. He added that public awareness of the problem is also being felt in Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, countries that also have overlapping claims in the South China Sea. Carpio said: "China can not seize economic zones that legally belong to these states.It is guaranteed by international law."

He added: "China should understand that people of [Southeast Asia] who are harmed by their [sweeping claim] will not give in to [them] … This will be a big problem for China in the long run, so China needs to adjust its position because its position is now totally false. "

Without war?

But is it still possible in the Philippines to recover the islands that China had seized without going to war?

"Yes, of course," replied Carpio. "We have already won the maritime dispute." The next step is [resolve] the territorial dispute. "

" As long as we do not concede the sovereignty of these islands, the problem remains and it will harass China " he continued. "And we have the support of the world's naval powers, sailing on the high seas and in the EEZs." – With reports by Julie M. Aurelio and Jerome Aning

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