President Duterte cannot compel foreign ships to ask first for permission before passing through Philippine waters, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said on Thursday. Carpio said that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) allows foreign ships to make “innocent passage” in territorial or archipelagic waters. “Under Unclos, in the exercise by foreign merchant ships and warships of innocent passage through the territorial sea or archipelagic waters, the coastal state cannot require prior permission or prior notification,” he said in a statement.

Pazzibugan, D. Z., Aurelio, J. M., & Andrade, J. I. (2019, August 23). Carpio says Du30 can't compel foreign ships to seek permission. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A8.