He said he could not lead the country to a war against China to assert the tribunal’s ruling. The arbitral ruling voided China’s claim to nearly all of the South China Sea under international law and declared that China violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights to fish and explore for resources in the West Philippine Sea. The senator said defending the country’s sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea, waters within the country’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the disputed South China Sea, did not mean going to war against China. “There are lawful and peaceful means to asserting sovereign rights. ‘Not too late’Carpio was part of the government’s legal team that argued the Philippine position against China’s expansive “nine-dash line” claims over nearly the entire South China Sea.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 28, 2020 20:37 UTC