DFA Urged: Debunk China's False Narrative on Panatag

More than filing diplomatic protests, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and other concerned government agencies must be proactive in debunking China's false narrative that Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal is not part of Philippine territory, retired Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio said.

- By ELIZABETH MARCELO

"China's declaration raises the issue of what state has sovereignty over Bajo de Masinloc—the Philippines or China. Thus, it is not enough for the Department of Foreign Affairs to lodge a perfunctory protest against China. The DFA must explain to the Filipino people and the world the legal and historical bases of Philippine sovereignty over Bajo de Masinloc," Carpio said yesterday.

He issued the statement as Beijing last Sept. 10 bared its plan to establish a “national nature reserve” around Scarborough Shoal, which the Philippines calls Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal.

Carpio maintained that Bajo de Masinloc, which China calls Huangyan Island, is within the Philippine territory based on historical records and on various laws, most recent of which is Republic Act 12064 or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act.

“China’s declaration of a ‘national nature reserve’ at Bajo de Masinloc violates Philippine sovereignty because Bajo de Masinloc is Philippine territory under various laws… A state has the exclusive sovereign right to declare a nature reserve in its own territory and territorial sea,” Carpio said.

He said the DFA must particularly debunk China’s claim that the Philippine territory is limited to the islands ceded by Spain to the United States under the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which supposedly does not include Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands.