Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement that the Philippines would not waver in defending the country’s interests in the West Philippine Sea despite strengthened ties with China.
“Well, that’s the correct position. We should never give up our rights there. That can be reconciled. We can continue to trade with China while we continue to defend our sovereign rights,” Carpio said in a chance interview on Monday after the President’s State of the Nation Address.
“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,” he added.
In a related development:
• The Department of National Defense expressed support for Duterte’s efforts to settle the West Philippine Sea issue with China through diplomatic means.
“The WPS issue represents just a portion of the sum total of our relations with China, thus, the DND supports the President’s efforts to manage it through diplomatic means,” DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said in a message to the PNA Monday.
“Having said that, 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.
Carpio said, however, it would be better if the President elaborated on how the country would protect its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.
Duterte said the Philippines remained firm in 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 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 South China Sea with Beijing, where all issues concerning the contested area were discussed in a “frank, in-depth, and friendly manner.”
The Philippines, with several Southeast Asian countries, also engaged China towards the drafting of the framework of the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea issue during its chairmanship in 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 in the areas of dispute in the Philippines’ West Philippine Sea.”
Despite the WPS issue, Duterte initially cited Manila’s “reenergized 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 shabu laboratories in the country and the arrest of Chinese chemists linked to a drug syndicate.
Meanwhile, AFP spokesperson Col. Edgard Arevalo said the military has been consistently conducting regular maritime and aerial patrols in the WPS in line with its constitutional mandate.
“We pursue our mandate of protecting the people and securing our sovereignty —in relation to the country’s foreign policy,” he added.
In his third SONA, Duterte said Manila stood firm in its commitment to protect its interest in the WPS while improving relations with Beijing.
“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 was reflected in Manila’s continued engagement with Beijing through multilateral and bilateral channels.
In 2017, the government launched the first bilateral consultative mechanism in the South China Sea (BCM) with China, where all issues concerning the contested area were discussed in a “frank, in-depth, and friendly manner.”
“Opening lines of communication and amicably managing differences have led to positive developments that include renewed access of Filipino fishermen in the areas of dispute in the Philippines’ West Philippine Sea.”