China won’t listen to subordinates, says ex-SC justice
BY ASHZEL HACHERO and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
RETIRED Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio yesterday said President Duterte, not his subordinates, must speak up on the Chinese incursion in the West Philippine Sea, particularly on the continued presence of at least 200 of its militia vessels in the area.
Carpio, who has been criticizing Duterte’s handling of Chinese activities in the country’s exclusive economic zone, said China would not listen if Duterte’s subordinates are the only ones talking against the incursion.
He also said Duterte’s silence on the issue may be construed by the Chinese as Malacañang downplaying the incident despite the fact that it involves the country’s sovereign rights and territorial integrity.
Delfin Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has repeatedly told China to pull out its ships at the Julian Felipe Reef in Palawan. China has said the ships, which are fishing vessels, sought refuge in the area because of bad weather. The ships have been there since last month.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has also issued strongly-worded statements calling on China to pull out its vessels in the WPS. The DFA also lodged diplomatic protests, the latest on Wednesday after the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reported the presence of at least 240 Chinese militia vessels in various areas in the WPS. It has also summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to press the Philippines’ demand for Chinese vessels to leave the WPS.
“But the spokesperson of President Duterte said this can be settled among friends. That means Malacañang is downplaying this whole incident, that this can be settled among friends. This is a very important national issue, our sovereign rights are involved, our sovereignty is involved,” Carpio said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel.
“The President must speak. He must stand up himself because if his subordinates do the talking China will not listen because China will listen only to the leader of the nation. If the President is silent, then China will continue,” he said.
On Wednesday, Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate (PL, Bayan Muna) challenged the President to break his silence and condemn China’s latest act of aggression, saying the filing of diplomatic protests or even summoning China’s ambassador may no longer be enough.
Carpio acknowledged that Duterte’s breaking his silence on the issue is not a guarantee that Beijing would order its vessels to leave the WPS but, he said, China would take notice if Duterte would speak about the issue, and the country’s position would be taken seriously.
“They will feel the heat because they will lose a friend if the President will speak,” he added.
On Wednesday, Carpio said the repeated intrusion of China in the WPS shows it has adopted the concept of “might is right,” in violation of the UN Charter and the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Seas or UNCLOS, which sets the rules for the peaceful resolution of maritime territorial disputes, among others.
He said if Beijing is allowed to do what it pleases in the entire South China Sea, then the UNCLOS will collapse since other powers might also seize other possession as their own.
China is claiming nearly the entire South China Sea under its nine-dash line theory but it was debunked by a 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration which ruled in Manila’s favor.
Beijing has refused to recognize the ruling and has been insisting on bilateral talks with other claimant countries — Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam — to address the issue while pursuing an aggressive expansion in the area.
Malacañang has not reacted to Carpio’s latest statements.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque yesterday said the President does not need to bare in public what diplomatic initiatives he has pursued privately in connection with the continued presence of the Chinese vessels in Philippine waters.
During a briefing, he was asked how Duterte is using his friendship with China in addressing the issue of Chinese incursion in the WPS.
“Kung ano man ang ginagawa ng Presidente, hayaan na nating gawin niya iyon sa isang pribadong pamamaraan dahil hindi naman po dapat inaanunsiyo sa publiko kung ano iyong mga diplomatic initiatives at hakbang na ginagawa ng Pangulo (Whatever the President is doing, let him do it in a private manner because diplomatic initiatives and whatever steps done by the President are not necessarily announced in public),” he said.
He added that Duterte has shown in the past five years that whatever actions he has taken in connection with the Philippines’ relation and territorial conflict with China have benefited the country and resulted in friendlier ties between Manila and Beijing.
“So let’s leave the President to his devices,” he added.
