Christopher Henry M.

Yap ADR L02 March 5, 2018

Reaction Paper on Acting Chief Justice Antonio T. Carpio’s Lecture Entitled

“The South China Sea Dispute: Philippines v. China”

As a fourth year Law Student, I have gained familiarity with the various laws, treaties,
principles and landmark jurisprudence affecting our Constitutional Rights, especially our
right as Filipinos for the exclusive use and enjoyment of our nation’s marine wealth in its
exclusive economic zone. The lecture lead by Acting Chief Justice Antonio T. Carpio further
enlightened my appreciation in this field.

In Acting Chief Justice Carpio’s remarks, he cited that China has been and still is
exploiting marine resources beyond its limits in violation of the provisions of the United
Nations Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In his presentation, he emphasized that under the
UNCLOS, the Philippines has exclusive sovereign rights to explore and exploit the oil and
gas in its exclusive economic zone. The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines mandates that
the “State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its xxx exclusive economic zone, and
reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens. By its aggressive but
destructive development of the disputed territories in the South China Sea, China has
infringed our Constitutional Rights over our nation’s marine wealth in its exclusive economic
zone.

We as Filipinos must not give up the fight and that we should keep on upholding our
protest against the deliberate actions of China. In International Law, the term
“acquiescence” is defined as the inaction of a State which is faced with a situation
constituting threat or infringement of its rights. Acquiescence takes the form of silence or
absence of protest in circumstances which generally call for a particular reaction signifying
an objection. [Ian C. MacGibbon, The Scope of Acquiescence in International Law, 31 Brit.
Y.B. Int’l L. 143 (1954)]. The Acting Chief Justice states that silence or inaction therefore
can be interpreted as a state’s acceptance of a factual or legal situation.

The victory of the Philippines against China in relation to the South China Sea
Dispute is just a stepping stone towards the realization and fulfillment of our rights as
Filipinos with regard to our nation’s marine wealth. We should keep up the fight using all
legal means possible to keep the peace within our region.