Global Theft of the Global Commons (by Justice Antonio T. Carpio, August 30, 2014) argues that the waters of the high seas beyond national exclusive economic zones (EEZs) belong to all humanity — the “global commons” — and cannot be appropriated by any single state. Carpio explains that under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the high seas and seabed beyond coastal states’ EEZs/ECSs are open to all states, coastal or landlocked, for fishing and access; no state may validly claim sovereignty over them.
He contends that the claim by Hainan (and by extension, People’s Republic of China) under its 9‑dashed‑line map — and related Hainan fisheries laws — to administer and exclusively exploit vast swathes of the South China Sea, including areas beyond its own EEZ, constitutes a “grand theft of the global commons.”
Carpio warns that if such claims are allowed to stand, they would undermine UNCLOS and the rule of law governing the seas. This could set a dangerous precedent where powerful states appropriate common maritime resources, potentially converting global commons into exclusive national domains.
For the Philippines — and for all states — resisting these claims through legal and diplomatic means is not only a matter of national interest but of upholding international law and securing the rights of all humanity to shared marine resources.