Justice Carpio reaffirms Panacot—Bajo de Masinloc—Scarborough Shoal as Philippine territory through centuries of maps, records, and state acts.
Justice Carpio explains the legal role of maps in territorial disputes: how maps become binding through treaties or state acceptance, how historical cartography can constitute admissions against interest, and why China’s own published maps weaken its South China Sea claims.
Justice Carpio explains why the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement undermines the deterrence that previously protected Scarborough Shoal, potentially enabling China to reclaim and fortify the feature without resistance.