Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Bianca Dava

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177094741844217699340435891754916895538081125_CCG 2.jpg_cropped_processed_by_imagy (1).webp" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A China Coast Guard vessel fires water cannon at a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) ship, August 11, 2025 near the Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal. Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News<br/></span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA<strong> (UPDATE) </strong>— Retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio on Friday said he disagrees with the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) preference for closed-door diplomacy in handling tensions in the West Philippine Sea, arguing that transparency is critical to building sustained international pressure against China.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/1/pcg-continues-transparency-initiatives-despite-online-clashes-with-chinese-embassy-1629">‘This is a long game:’ PCG continues transparency initiatives despite online clashes with Chinese Embassy</a></div><p>Carpio weighed in on the supposed divergence in approach between the country’s security sector and foreign policy arm, as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) continue to publicize China’s aggressive behavior in the West Philippine Sea under the transparency initiative, while the DFA has emphasized preserving diplomatic space through traditional channels.</p><p>The DFA on Monday reaffirmed its role as the country’s authoritative voice on regional and international issues, stressing that diplomacy remains “indispensable” in securing the Philippines’ strategic interests.</p><p>The department appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary Rogelio Villanueva Jr. as its new spokesperson on maritime issues.</p><p>Villanueva emphasized that while defensive capabilities and transparency have their place, state-to-state engagement and dialogue remain essential tools in managing tensions with China.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/9/dfa-appoints-ex-navy-coast-guard-officer-as-new-maritime-spokesperson-1827">DFA appoints ex-Navy, Coast Guard officer as new maritime spokesperson</a></div><p>Carpio, however, warned that excessive reliance on closed-door negotiations risks undermining broader international support.</p><p>“I do not agree with the DFA when they say this must be discussed behind closed doors. The moment you do that, China wins because the world will not know, will not see what China is doing in the sea,” Carpio told journalists from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, including from ABS-CBN News.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/12/china-carrying-out-maritime-occupation-in-west-philippine-sea-analyst-1326">China carrying out &#x27;maritime occupation&#x27; in West Philippine Sea: analyst</a></div><p>The journalists were selected to participate in the second leg of the inaugural Southeast Asia Maritime Media Visits Project (SEAMMVP)—organized by La Trobe Asia and sponsored by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)—in Manila from February 9 to 14.</p><p>In a press briefing Friday, Villanueva insisted they will continue to engage counterparts in a “firm and professional manner”. </p><p>&quot;The DFA will continue to be guided by the President’s directive as the chief architect of Philippine foreign policy and not to allow ourselves to be sidetracked by the jeers of some casual commentators, non practitioners and self-styled experts,&quot; he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>‘ONLY TWO OPTIONS’ FOR CHINA</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Carpio said Beijing’s objective is clear: to turn its so-called 10-dash line claim into its national boundary.</p><p>“They have a timetable for that. They are doing that,” Carpio warned.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/1/tarriela-hits-back-at-chinese-embassy-truth-and-accountability-are-not-provocations-0028">Tarriela hits back at Chinese embassy: ‘Truth and accountability are not provocations’</a></div><p>“If the 10-dash line becomes the national boundary of China, Vietnam will lose its access to the sea. Malaysia will lose its exclusive economic zone. We&#x27;ll lose our exclusive economic zone and our island territories,” he added.</p><p>According to Carpio, there are only two things that could make China alter that course.</p><p>“One, China voluntarily agrees to just give up its claim, which is very unlikely. I don&#x27;t think that will happen,” he said.</p><p>The former justice continued, “The second is if the world is united and tells China: ‘You cannot do that.’ China needs the world to survive, export and import, so that will be a strong pressure on China to slow down and even stop.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>‘CONVINCING THE WORLD’ TO HELP THE PHILIPPINES</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>For Carpio, mobilizing global unity requires sustained transparency.</p><p>“China will give up its claim if the entire world will be united. And how do we unite the world? We cannot unite the world by not talking about it, and that&#x27;s my point about transparency,” Carpio explained.</p><p>“The only way we can convince the world to help us is if we explain to the world we are being bullied at sea, we are being robbed at sea. You don&#x27;t want the Law of the Sea to be overturned by China; you don&#x27;t want China to say there are no high seas in the South China Sea. So, you must support us, and the world will not support us unless we explain it to the world,” he further said.</p><p>He cited incidents involving Filipino fishermen and water cannon attacks against Philippine vessels, arguing that these would carry little diplomatic weight if not publicized.</p><p>“The DFA is saying let there be a diplomatic space—let&#x27;s discuss this behind closed doors. If you discuss it behind closed doors, the world will never know, the world will not be convinced, the world will not support us. So, it&#x27;s important that we explain this to the world,” the former justice said.</p><p>He went on, “This will take time—this will be beyond our generations—but we have to start now. We have laid the foundation. We have the arbitral award. We will expand on it. We don&#x27;t expect instant gratification here.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>NUCLEAR POWERS AND COMPLIANCE</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Carpio also rejected the notion that major powers ignore international rulings.</p><p>He cited several cases where nuclear-armed states lost arbitration or court cases to non-nuclear states and eventually complied.</p><p>Carpio pointed to the United States’ case with Nicaragua before the International Court of Justice (ICJ); Russia’s arbitration loss to the Netherlands over the Arctic Sunrise incident; India and Bangladesh’s long-standing maritime boundary dispute in the Bay of Bengal; and the United Kingdom’s legal dispute with Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago.</p><p>“Out of the five [cases], in four [of those] cases, the losing nuclear-armed state complied. So, it&#x27;s 80 percent,” Carpio said. “So, those who say that great powers do what they do and small powers must suffer when they must—no. International law has stopped that principle.”</p><p>He noted that China remains the only nuclear-armed state that has not complied with an adverse ruling—referring to the 2016 Arbitral Award that invalidated Beijing’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea.</p><p>“The fifth country—a nuclear armed state—that lost in arbitration against a non-nuclear-armed state is China. China is the only country that has not complied,” Carpio stressed.</p><p>“I think if all the countries of the world will say, ‘China, you just have to comply,’ eventually, China will comply because China needs the world to survive, to export and to import,” he added.</p><p>“We just have to hang on because, actually, jurisprudence is on our side… and we should have a long-term perspective,” he further said. <strong>—With a report from Harlene Delgado, ABS-CBN News</strong></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SYtfRxh-k6c?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GMNxTn9gtvg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o_8UBhiP7qc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kreklHk6SVw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio warned that excessive reliance on closed-door negotiations risks undermining broader international support.</p>

Retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio warned that excessive reliance on closed-door negotiations risks undermining broader international support.

'China wins' if DFA insists on 'closed-door' diplomacy on West PH Sea—Carpio

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'China wins' if DFA insists on 'closed-door' diplomacy on West PH Sea—Carpio

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 13, 2026 09:58 AM PHT

|

Updated Feb 13, 2026 12:02 PM PHT

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Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio

West Philippine Sea

diplomacy

transparency

Department of Foreign Affairs

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