Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio said Friday that the Philippines, China, and Vietnam could reach an agreement over what to do about the rich fishing grounds in Scarborough Shoal, noting that a UN tribunal had ruled the area a common fishing ground for the three countries. “The one thing that’s lacking is there’s no common agreement between these three nations,” he told CNN in an interview. “They should sit down and discuss the rules of fishing within that shoal because we have to preserve the fish... so there will be sustainable fishing. But the Chinese don’t want to discuss that with us,” he said. Carpio said reports that members of the Chinese Coast Guard were bullying Filipino fishermen were disturbing.

Fabunan, S. S., & Araja, R. (2018, June 16). Carpio pushes for tripartite pact on Scarborough. Manila Standard, pp. A1, A2.