Duterte should tell ‘friend’ China to ‘back off our backyard,’ says Carpio

Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio (L) and President Rodrigo Duterte (R)

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte should tell China to back off from thePhilippines’ territory on the West Philippine Sea, said his prominent critic, retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio, ahead of the Chief Executive’s planned meeting with the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines.

The meeting was being scheduled following China’s latest incursion at the WPS where some 220 Chinese militia vessels were spotted at the Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef).

Speaking in an interview with ABS-CBN New Channel’s “Headstart” on Wednesday, Carpio said Duterte should tell Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian that if China is really a friend of the Philippines as it claimed, then it should not occupy its friend’s territory.

“The President should say that friends do not seize, do not occupy the backyard of each other. If the Chinese are friends, it should not seize our territorial maritime zones,” Carpio said.

The Philippine government earlier filed a diplomatic protest over the presence of Chinese vessels at the disputed waters. China had claimed these are not militia boats but fishing vessels that took shelter in the area because of inclement weather.

Following the incident, Malacañang announced that Duterte planned to talk with the Chinese ambassador regarding the issue, with presidential spokesperson Harry Roque saying that “there is nothing that cannot be discussed among friends.”

However, Carpio said the actions of the Chinese do not seem to be that of a friend, adding that the matter of the territorial dispute should be settled through third party arbitration.

“They should not unilaterally just seize our territory and maritime zones in the [West Philippine Sea]. Friends do not do this to each other,” Carpio said.

EDV