THE Philippines has issued a warning to China over its claims in the South China Sea as tensions in the region remain high.
China has continued to increase its gains in the region and has come into minor conflicts with several states including the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Speaking recently, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio called for a “truth movement” to go against China. In a bold speech to the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication, Mr Carpio called on the surrounding nations to come together against China as he called Beijing’s propaganda claims to territory as the “fake news of the century”.
Mr Carpio added: “This true history is clear, obvious and simple: China never owned the South China Sea in the past, and there are high seas in the South China Sea that belong to all mankind, as there are exclusive economic zones in the South China Sea that belong solely to the adjacent coastal states.
“We can call this present-day information campaign the South China Sea Truth Movement, a people’s movement using freedom of expression to explain the historical truth about the South China Sea.
“We can invite the peoples of Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, countries whose exclusive economic zones are also encroached by China’s 9-dashed line, to join us in this movement.”
The disputes in the region have erupted ever since China instigated its nine-dash-line where it has laid claim to a large amount of area in the South China Sea.