Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) – Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio justified the need for the controversial Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the U.S.
Also read: Supreme Court upholds constitutionality of EDCA
He said EDCA “gives much needed teeth” to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) against China’s aggression in the South China Sea.
In his separate concurring opinion, Carpio pointed out EDCA is all about the prepositioning of war materials in strategic locations to successfully resist any armed aggression.
He said this prepositioning of war materials — like mobile anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles — is absolutely necessary for successful defense against armed aggression, especially for a coastal state like the Philippines.
He explained the MDT provides that an armed attack on “public vessels or aircraft” of either the U.S. or the Philippines in the Pacific area is one of the grounds for a party to invoke mutual defense.
Should China’s navy ships attack a Philippine military ship in Philippine-occupied islands in the Spratlys, Carpio said this will be covered by the MDT.
Carpio added EDCA does not detract from the legal arbitration case that the country has filed against China under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Also read: The Hague arguments: Philippine case against China explained
