SUPREME Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Monday said the Philippine government should ask the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration to issue a provision measure ordering China to stop its reclamation and construction activities in the disputed South China Sea.
Carpio in a forum bewailed China’s continuing reclamation and construction activities, saying it was able to destroy the reefs in less than two months.
China has created about 2,000 acres of reclaimed land on seven reefs—Subi Reef, Gaven Reef, Mischief Reef, Johnson Reef, Fiery Cross Reef, Chigua Reef and Calderon Reef.
Reports have also indicated that China has transitioned from reclamation to infrastructure development, insisting it was doing its activities in its territory.
“Seventy percent of fish in the Philippines are spawned here…Carried by the tides to Palawan and even Vietnam. So this is our food source and China doesn’t care,” Carpio told the forum “Towards Common Actions on Maritime Commons—Safeguarding Maritime Security in Asia Through Regional Cooperation,” in Ortigas.
Read more: http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/06/16/carpio-arbiters-can-stop-china/