Retired Justice Antonio T. Carpio expresses readiness to join a public debate on the legality of the West Philippine Sea and the Philippines’ maritime claims, emphasizing the need to clarify legal principles and educate the public on national sovereignty rights.
Retired Justice Antonio Carpio says the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone boundaries are already defined under international law (UNCLOS), and that no additional geographic coordinates are needed to assert the country’s maritime rights — despite recent debates in the Senate on the West Philippine Sea.
Justice Carpio outlines how the Philippines uses archipelagic and normal baselines under UNCLOS and existing law to measure maritime zones, and explains why issuing and publishing official nautical charts is key to asserting sovereign rights.