Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio
TOKYO鈥擲upreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio was right to say that China should be denied access to the Philippine Rise if it continues to disrespect Manila鈥檚 sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea (蜜桃工作室).
This was the view of international security expert, Professor Ken Jimbo of Japan鈥檚 Keio University, who said Beijing should respect the Permanent Court of Arbitration鈥檚 (PCA) decision in July 2016.
鈥淭he Philippines has a clear legal judgment on what could be allowed and what could not be allowed,鈥� Jimbo said on Thursday.
鈥淭hat is not based purely on the Philippine interpretation of where is the red line. There鈥檚 an internationally recognized legal red line. That鈥檚 the strength of the PCA,鈥� he said.
Based on ruling
鈥淓very decision the Philippines makes should be based on the PCA ruling. I wish to see the Philippines maintain the status of the PCA,鈥� Jimbo added.
He made the remarks after Carpio criticized Malaca帽ang for allowing China to conduct scientific research in Philippine waters while refusing to recognize the PCA ruling.
But presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Chinese scientific expedition was irrelevant to the country鈥檚 claims in the West Philippine Sea.
Beijing鈥檚 intrusions
Interestingly, Roque had previously been very vocal against Beijing鈥檚 intrusions into Philippine waters until he was designated presidential spokesperson.
Jimbo noted that Japan had also been supportive of a legally-binding solution to the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
鈥淚 think [the PCA ruling] has been politicized in a way,鈥� Jimbo said. 鈥淭he international community needs to congratulate what the Philippines has done so far.鈥�
鈥淚t is a very rare case that the PCA made a judgment on a very specific legal issue in the South China Sea,鈥� Kimbo said, urging the Duterte administration to rethink its policy of pivoting from the United States to China.
鈥淚f you look at the wider perspective of the security architecture, the US engagement is still the platform in creating the basic kind of deterrence and response,鈥� he reiterated.
Engagement fluctuations
鈥淥bviously, US has lot of fluctuation in engagement, but we cannot really replace the role of the US. We can engage in Philippine maritime security, but not in replacing the US,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not about what the US thinks, but about the multinational platform [that must] co-exist with China,鈥� he said.