China’s leaders may yet relive Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale about vanity, featuring an unclad emperor who couldn’t see his own nakedness, thanks to Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio. In a diligently researched 62-page treatise titled “Historical facts, Historical Lies, and Historical Rights in the West Philippine Sea,” Carpio called China’s claim to the greater part of the South China Sea a “gigantic historical fraud,” with no ground to stand on.

Briefly, Carpio’s impressive research yielded the following historical insights:

• There are no Chinese documents in the form of maps, constitutions, treaties, and official pronouncements—from ancient times to 1932—that claim China’s southern perimeter extends farther than Hainan Island, some 19 miles from the mainland’s Guandong province. The exhaustive research included Chinese and foreign sources, with authoritative documents and 72 cartographic records, including that of the epic voyages of the eunuch admiral Zheng He during the Ming dynasty.

• In contrast, Philippine historical records clearly prove, in maps, international agreements, and official statements, that Scarborough (or Panatag) Shoal, situated 123 miles west of Subic Bay (which is among the islands, reefs, atolls and rocks claimed by China) is an integral part of our territory. China seized the shoal in 2012 and has since prevented Filipino fishermen from operating in the area.

• Most telling of all is the fact that US and Philippine armed forces used Scarborough Shoal for aerial and naval gunnery from 1960 to 1980 without any hint of protest from Beijing. Hardly the behavior expected of a proud nation zealously defending its sovereignty.