PH urged to protest Chinese declaration vs high seas in SCS

MANILA – The Philippine government must issue a counter-declaration to China’s statement denying the existence of high seas in the South China Sea, former Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the French Embassy-Stratbase Institute forum on advancing ocean governance in Makati City, Carpio said Manila must lodge a protest at least within a year or two or risk China claiming that the country had acquiesced to this claim of jurisdiction there.

“There is this principle in international law, the doctrine of acquiescence, that a state’s silence or inaction to a situation or claim that reasonably calls for an objection implies consent to the situation or claim,” he said.

“If we do not protest this declaration of China, we are deemed to have impliedly accepted it. So we must protest. Up to today, we have not protested, no state has protested,” he said.

China ratified the landmark Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, also known as the High Seas Treaty, in December 2025.

In signing the pact, Carpio said Beijing, which had long laid claims over the South China Sea and basically the high seas it covers, said the agreement and its implementation “shall under no circumstances” affect its territorial sovereignty.

“In my opinion, we should protest within one year because there are cases where you can protest within two years, but we have to play it safe,” he said.

The BBNJ is the first legally binding international accord dedicated to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in the high seas. — Joyce Ann L. Rocamora (PNA)