Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has once again sounded the alarm on the need for the Philippine government to assert its sovereignty over the Reed Bank area. In a recent interview with ANC, Carpio emphasized that the country’s hesitation in exploring oil and gas reserves in the area is not only a missed opportunity but also a threat to its national security.
Carpio pointed out that the Philippines has a clear right to explore and extract resources from its own territory, as enshrined in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). However, China’s repeated claims over the area have left the country in a state of uncertainty.
As Carpio noted, the Philippines’ failure to assert its rights could embolden China to further encroach upon its territory. This is not only a concern for the country’s economic interests but also for its national security and sovereignty.