MANILA, Philippines—Filipino voters in 2022 must elect leaders who will “assert and preserve” the country’s rights in the West Philippine Sea, former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said on Monday (June 8). President Rodrigo Duterte has been criticized for setting aside the landmark 2016 arbitral ruling against Beijing’s mythical nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea. But our own government does not want to sign that because that will displease China,” Carpio said. The Philippines, he said, has also yet to file for an extended continental shelf claim in a part of Luzon facing the South China Sea. “We should vote for a government that will preserve our rights in the West Philippine Sea,” Carpio said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 08, 2020 12:45 UTC