ASEAN states should follow Indonesia, invoke Hague ruling vs China – Carpio

ASEAN states should follow Indonesia, invoke Hague ruling vs China – Carpio
Sofia Tomacruz June 02, 2020

Retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio says raising the landmark ruling is the 'best and most effective' argument under international law to thwart China's encroachment of Southeast Asian states' waters

MANILA, Philippines – Retired Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio urged Southeast Asian nations to invoke the 2016 Hague ruling against China’s claims in the South China Sea, as he lauded Indonesia’s recent move to do so.

Carpio, who was one of the legal minds behind the Philippines’ case against China, said Indonesia’s invocation of the historic arbitral ruling in a note verbale to the United Nations was an “official acceptance of the ruling,” an example that other countries in the region should follow.

“Indonesia is using the best and most effective argument under international law to thwart China’s encroachment of its EEZ (exclusive economic zone) in the Natunas. And that is the ruling of the arbitral tribunal declaring China’s 9-dash line claim without legal or historical basis,” Carpio told Rappler.

Carpio pointed out that if countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) used the 2016 Hague ruling against China’s actions in their EEZs, they would be putting up a united front rejecting Beijing’s expansive claims in the strategic waterway.

“ASEAN states whose EEZs are encroached by China’s 9-dash line should follow the lead of Indonesia. They will be presenting a unified argument against China, an argument that has been vetted by an international tribunal,” he said.

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