Madrid, 11 May 2015 – Antonio Tirol Carpio, Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, talks to Mario Esteban, Elcano Royal Institute, on the South China Sea dispute over territory and sovereignty over ocean areas, and the Paracels and the Spratlys – two island chains claimed in whole or in part by a number of countries. Alongside the fully fledged islands, there are dozens of rocky outcrops, atolls, sandbanks and reefs, such as the Scarborough Shoal.
The South China sea is also a major shipping route and home to fishing grounds that supply the livelihoods of people across the region.