Carpio: PH must protest China’s no high seas claim in South China Sea

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Retired Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio warns of dire consequences if Manila does not make a 'counter declaration' to China's claim that there are no high seas in the South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines should protest China’s declaration that the High Seas Treaty does not apply to the South China Sea or else it will lose “an area larger than our total land area,” warned retired Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio.

“We have to make a counter declaration. The High Seas Treaty applies to the South China Sea high seas,” Carpio said at a forum organized by Stratbase Institute and the French Embassy in Manila on Tuesday, June 9.

The loss will be huge to the Philippines and other claimant countries in the South China Sea if they don’t act, said Carpio. Silence or the absence of protest may be deemed as consent under international law.

“We will lose our high seas, we will lose our EEZ (exclusive economic zone) in the West Philippine Sea because China’s 10-dash line is very close to our territorial sea,” Carpio said. “We will lose an area larger than our total land area.”

High seas are the part of the ocean not covered by national jurisdictions. The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement or the High Seas Treaty is a legally binding agreement that aims to manage and protect these waters and the massive wealth of marine life beyond national waters.

Both China and the Philippines have ratified the BBNJ, along with 87 other countries. Carpio said the Philippines should file a formal protest against China’s position within a year after the latter ratified the treaty in December 2025.

“When China ratified the BBNJ, China said that this ratification is without prejudice to the sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction of the state of China, including in respect of any dispute related to it,” said Carpio.

China is among the countries seeking to host the BBNJ secretariat. – Rappler.com