Chinese BBNJ declaration won’t diminish PH rights over WPS –DFA

MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday said China’s implementation of the United Nations High Seas Treaty would not “diminish nor forfeit” the Philippines’ maritime zones in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The statement comes following former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s warning that Manila stands to “lose our own exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea” if it does not protest China’s declaration on the landmark Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement.

In signing the pact in December 2025, Carpio said Beijing had officially denied the existence of high seas in disputed areas, which he said meant “the South China Sea.”

READ: Documentary traces PH struggle in West Philippine Sea

Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Analyn Ratonel said Carpio’s warning was “without legal foundation” as the treaty only applies to areas beyond national jurisdiction.

“The Philippines’ EEZ is defined and protected under UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea) —not by the BBNJ Agreement—and cannot be diminished, forfeited, or otherwise affected by the country’s implementation of the BBNJ Agreement,” she said.

Ratonel said the treaty’s text itself ensures that “it cannot be invoked as a basis for asserting or denying any claims to sovereignty, sovereign rights, or jurisdiction, nor as a basis for settling any related disputes.”

“Simply stated: the Philippines’ maritime zones are not at risk,” she added.

Ratonel further said there is “no longer any unresolved maritime dispute with respect to China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea,” since the 2016 Arbitral Award had already conclusively held that Beijing’s nine-dash line is “incompatible with UNCLOS and carries no legal force.”

BBNJ applies to SCS pockets

She said the Philippines, during the years of BBNJ negotiations, had “consistently and on record” stated that the agreement “applies to the pockets of high seas within the South China Sea.”

“In all relevant UN fora and ocean governance meetings, the Philippines also actively and vigorously opposed the introduction of any mechanism that would allow a party to veto Area-Based Management Tool measures on the basis of a standing dispute —precisely to prevent others from using contested maritime claims to frustrate the Agreement’s implementation,” she added.

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Similarly, Ratonel said the “national interest has been and remains” the government’s primary consideration in all its engagements and decisions related to the treaty.

She added that Manila’s position on the UN treaty was a “product of sustained whole-of-government deliberation, engaging the Department of Justice, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Agriculture–Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, non-government organizations, and other stakeholders.”

The BBNJ is the first legally binding international accord dedicated to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in the high seas.

Baseless

Ratonel said the DFA takes “strong exception” to Carpio’s statement and called “baseless” his accusation that “those who are required to protest” the Chinese declaration are “sleeping on the job” and committing dereliction of duty.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs acknowledges Justice Carpio’s distinguished contributions to Philippine law, jurisprudence, and legal scholarship. It is precisely because of that standing that greater care in public commentary on issues of national importance is warranted,” she said.

“The Filipino public deserves accurate and well-grounded information—and they can be assured that this Government remains fully seized of its obligation to protect Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in our maritime zones,” she added. (PNA)

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