By Junex Doronio

REAFFIRMING HIS STANCE that Ayungin Shoal belongs to the Philippines, former Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio has expressed preference for a civilian structure to be built instead of a military one.

Carpio explained that in the 2016 arbitral award at The Hague, the Permanent Court of Arbitration said if it’s a military activity, “that is not under the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal.”

“We can actually put up a structure there, like a marine research center with a lighthouse, but I prefer that we put up a civilian structure to be operated by the Coast Guard,” the former high magistrate said.

He also maintained that the Ayungin Shoal is part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), the country has the exclusive right to build structures there.

“The Chinese have been destroying the coral reefs, they have been destroying the coral reef in the Sabina Shoal, that’s why we’re filing a case against China,” Castro added.

He proposed that there should be a monitoring structure to prevent China from destroying the coral reefs in the Ayungin Shoal.

But it must be a civilian structure, Carpio insisted.

The BRP Sierra Madre is a World War II-era ship that was deliberately grounded at Ayungin Shoal in 1999 during the administration of then President Joseph “Erap” Estrada to serve as a military outpost over the contested waters.

The retired high magistrate also pointed out that if China attacks the permanent structure, the Philippines can report the case to the arbitral tribunal.

“We have a right to be there because that’s our EEZ, and the coastal state that has the jurisdiction over the EEZ has the right to put up structures in its EEZ,” Carpio said.

(AI/MNM)