“The DND and Armed Forces of the Philippines will defend our country’s sovereignty with all the means and resources available to us if and when the need arises.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s stance on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) by publicly claiming its defense, made as part of his recent State of the Nation Address on Monday, was the correct stand to take, acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio said.

Duterte, in addressing both chambers of Congress along with key government officials and the diplomatic corps., said the Philippines will not waver in defending the country’s interests in the WPS while citing the country’s strengthened ties with China.

“That’s the correct position. We should never give up our rights there,” Carpio said.

“That can be reconciled. We can continue to trade with China while we continue to defend our sovereign rights,” Carpio added.

The senior magistrate, however, said the President could have further elaborated on the matter of protecting the country’s sovereign rights on the WPS as China is also strengthening its presence in the region’s water territories.

“There’s no incompatibility there because we have other relations with China. We have trade. We have cultural and all other matters. But we should not do anything that will waive our rights to the West Philippine Sea,” Carpio said.

But Duterte said the Philippines will remain firm on its position on the WPS issue.

“Our improved relationship with China does not mean that we will waver in our commitment to defend our interest in the West Philippine Sea,” Duterte said, adding this is reflected in Manila’s continued engagement with the Asian giant through multilateral and bilateral channels.

In 2017, the government launched the first bilateral consultative mechanism on the South China Sea with Beijing where all issues concerning the contested areas were discussed in “frank, in-depth, and friendly manner.”

The Philippines, together with several Southeast Asian countries, also engaged China towards the drafting of the framework on the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea issue during its chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2017.

These efforts paved the way for an opportunity to manage the dispute without further escalating tensions in the strategic waters, Duterte said.

“Opening lines of communication and amicably managing differences have led to positive developments that include renewed access of Filipino fishermen to the areas of dispute in the Philippines’ West Philippine Sea.”

Despite the WPS issue, Duterte initially cited Manila’s “re-energized relations” with Beijing that led to an unprecedented level of cooperation against transnational crimes.

This, according to the President, led to the discovery and dismantling of illegal drug laboratories in the country and the arrest of Chinese chemists linked to syndicates.

Carpio explained there are two disputes concerning the WPS.

One is the maritime issue which the country brought before the international tribunal which said the Philippines has sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea.

“The second is the territorial dispute. Ownership of Scarborough Shoal because it is above water at high tide. That one, there is no tribunal in the world which has jurisdiction to rule on sovereignty issues unless China agrees. So, there’s no court that can rule on who owns Scarborough Shoal unless China agrees to submit it to arbitration,” Carpio said.

He explained the maritime entitlement of Scarborough Shoal should be determined, whether it is 12 nautical miles of 200 nautical miles.

“That’s a maritime dispute. That’s within the jurisdiction of the tribunal. And that is why they ruled that the Scarborough Shoal is only entitled to 12 Nautical miles. But Filipinos have a traditional fishing right there.”

The maritime dispute was resolved by the international tribunal in three years but Carpio said the territorial dispute will take a long time to fix.

Carpio said as long as the Philippines government continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, the claim remains alive.

But it would be different if China builds on the islands and no protest is made. It is considered a waiving of rights.

Meanwhile, the Department of National Defense expressed support to President Rodrigo Duterte’s efforts to settle the WPS issue with China through diplomatic channels.

“The WPS issue represents just a portion of the sum total of our relations with China. The DND supports the President’s efforts to manage it through diplomatic means,” DND spokesman Arsenio Andolong said.

“However, the DND and Armed Forces of the Philippines will defend our country’s sovereignty with all the means and resources available to us if and when the need arises,” he added.

Meanwhile, AFP spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo said the military has been consistently conducting regular maritime and aerial patrols in the WPS in line with its constitutional mandate. With PNA

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