Carpio to youth: Defend West Philippine Sea without letup

WATCH: SC Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio's message to the Filipino youth. @inquirerdotnet pic.twitter.com/5qaNcanlH8

— tetch torres-tupas (@T2TupasINQ) June 19, 2019

MANILA, Philippines – Continue defending the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

That’s the appeal of Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Wednesday when asked what was his message to the youth.

Carpio has been championing the country’s resolve to take sole control of the West Philippine Sea. The magistrate played a great part in the country’s victory in the arbitral tribunal that invalidated China’s massive claim in the South China Sea.

“Continue defending the West Philippine Sea because that is our duty. My generation laid the foundation by winning the arbitral ruling that the West Philippine Sea belongs to the Philippines…,” said Carpio after administering the oath of office of Kabataan Representative Sarah Elago at the Dignitary’s Lounge of the Supreme Court.

“The next generation including your generation must build on this foundation so that our exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea will belong truly to the Filipinos and all the resources there–the fish, oil, gas and other resources will be enjoyed exclusively by Filipino citizens including Reed Bank because that’s part of our EEZ,” Carpio said. The Reed Bank or the Recto Bank is currently in the middle of the controversy after a Chinese vessel rammed a Filipino fishing boat and abandoned its 22 crew members as it sank.

The Arbitral ruling referred to by Carpio is the landmark decision of the international court rejected China’s argument that it had sovereign and historic rights over the disputed sea region located within the so-called nine-dashed line.

It also upheld the Philippines’ exclusive rights over the Scarborough Shoal, also called Panatag Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc, a group of rock formations found well within the Philippines’ 330-kilometer exclusive economic zone./ac

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