(CNN Philippines, May 4) — Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio launched an electronic book on the South China Sea dispute he wants the Chinese to read.
Carpio’s e-book was launched a week after the 30th ASEAN summit, whose Chairman’s statement had no direct reference to the arbitral ruling.
“This e-book is intended to convince the Chinese people that the nine-dash [line] has no legal or historical basis,” Carpio said in his book launch Thursday.
Related: ASEAN tones down stance on arbitral ruling
Entitled The South China Sea Dispute: Philippine Sovereign Rights and Jurisdiction on the West Philippine Sea, Carpio’s free e-book aims to inform Filipinos and other coastal states of the country’s maritime entitlements under international law.
“Then the Filipino people will never allow government administration, any government agency, or any government official to give away or compromise these maritime areas or resources in favor of a foreign state in violation of the Constitution,” Carpio said.
He said it was released in e-book form because a printed material would not find its way to China.
“The only way this e-book can reach the Chinese people is in electronic format through the internet and through multiple download sources,” Carpio added.
Carpio said if other countries can claim territorial rights outside of international law, powerful neighboring states may do the same.
The book is in English, but Carpio said they will release a version in Mandarin by the end of the year.
Carpio has opposed land reclamation and militarization in the South China Sea, as islands such as the Scarborough Shoal are still part of national territory under Republic Act 9522.
