MANILA, Philippines – Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio criticized those who say China might wage war over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), as he downplayed this fear as part of a "false option."
One of those who have raised this possibility is President Rodrigo Duterte himself.
In a forum on Tuesday, June 18, Carpio said: "The option for the Philippines is not either to talk to China or go to war with China. This is a false option, and shows a dismal lack of understanding of international law and international relations."
Carpio explained: "China itself does not want war because war will give the US an excuse to intervene in the South China Sea dispute, considering the existing Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty. China's strategy is to control the South China Sea without firing a single shot."
Carpio pointed out, too, that many people do not understand China's "3-warfare strategy." The 3-warfare strategy refers to China's use of "3 mutually reinforcing strategies" of psychological operations, media manipulation, and legal warfare, The Diplomat reported.
AdChoiceTV News, Robi Chan contributed to this report
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