International law trumps China’s claims, Carpio says

MANILA (UPDATED) – China’s invasion and occupation of Mischief Reef in 1995 and Scarborough Shoal in 2012 are acts of armed aggression against the Philippines that violate the United Nations Charter, according to Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.

Carpio, in a recent speech before the Philippine Women’s Judges Association, said China is also threatening to forcibly evict Philippine Marines aboard the shipwrecked RPS Sierra Madre in Ayungin Reef within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Spratlys.

The Philippines is not the lone target of China, according to Carpio. He said Beijing also committed armed aggression against Vietnam in the Paracels in 1974 and Fiery Reef Cross in 1988.

“The world is now familiar with the expansionist designs of China in the South China Sea. China’s creeping invasion of the islands, rocks and reefs, as well as of the waters, of the South China Sea grows in force and aggressiveness each day as China’s naval forces assume greater superiority over those of other coastal states,” he said.

Read more: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/06/06/14/carpio-chinas-invasion-armed-aggression