Anda di halaman 1dari 2

Statement of Justice Antonio T.

Carpio On the Invasion of


Philippine Territory by China (19 August 2017)

1. Two Chinese frigates, one Chinese coast guard vessel and two Chinese maritime
militia fishing boats are guarding Sandy Cay, which is about 2.5 NM from Pagasa,
well within the 12 NM territorial sea of Pagasa. These Chinese ships are not
exercising the right of innocent passage because this right requires continuous and
expeditious passage without stopping or loitering. The Chinese ships are also not
exercising freedom of navigation because this freedom does not apply to the
territorial sea but only to the EEZ and the high seas.
2. Sandy Cay was extensively discussed in the final ruling of the arbitral tribunal
dated 12 July 2016. Sandy Cay is located between Pagasa and Subi Reef, although
much closer to Pagasa. Sandy Cay is a disappearing high-tide sandbar - it appears
for a few months and then disappears, and then re-appears again either in the same
place or in a nearby place. The disappearance is caused by storms which disperse
the sand. The action of the waves reforms the sandbar after a few months and thus
the sandbar re-appears again. The arbitral tribunal did not deem it necessary to
decide whether Sandy Cay is a high-tide or low-tide elevation because there are low-
tide elevation rocks in the Pagasa Reef between Pagasa and Subi Reef that could
be used as baselines of Pagasa even without Sandy Cay. These rocks, as
baselines, extend the territorial sea of Pagasa to include Subi Reef which is a low-
tide elevation forming part of the continental shelf of the Philippines.
3. Apparently, because of China's dredging in Subi Reef, pulverized corals drifted
and gathered at Sandy Cay and made Sandy Cay permanently above water at high-
tide. As a high-tide elevation, Sandy Cay is now land or territory capable of
sovereign ownership with its own territorial sea and territorial airspace. Sandy Cay
now cuts off the extension of Pagasa's territorial sea to include Subi Reef. If China
acquires sovereignty over Sandy Cay, it can now claim Subi Reef as part of the
territorial sea of Sandy Cay, legitimizing China's claim over Subi Reef and removing
Subi Reef from the continental shelf of the Philippines. The Chinese ships have
prevented a Philippine BFAR vessel from approaching Sandy Cay. China obviously
wants to physically possess and control Sandy Cay.
4. This means China is now virtually occupying a new geologic feature within the
territorial sea of Pagasa, a Philippine territory, in clear violation of China's supposed
vow not to occupy any more islands in the Spratlys. This is worse than what
happened in Scarborough Shoal. Sandy Cay is a newly-created island and could not
have been owned by China even under its discredited historic nine-dashed line
claim. Sandy Cay emerged within the territorial sea of a Philippine territory. If Sandy
Cay becomes Chinese territory, it will reduce by a third or more Pagasa's territorial
sea. It will also prevent the Philippines from extending the territorial sea of Pagasa to
include Subi Reef. By any yardstick, this is seizure of Philippine territory.
5. In short, Sandy Cay is a Philippine land territory that is being seized (to put it
mildly), or being invaded (to put it frankly), by China. It is the constitutional duty of
President Duterte, and DFA Secretary Cayetano, to defend and protect Philippine
territory. Both have vowed to the Filipino people that they will not concede a single
inch of Philippine territory to China. The very least that they could do now is to
vigorously protest this invasion of Philippine territory by China. If both are
courageous, they should send a Philippine navy ship to guard Sandy Cay, and if the
Chinese navy ships attack the Philippine navy vessel, they should invoke the Phil-US
Mutual Defense Treaty.

Anda mungkin juga menyukai