Antonio Carpio —EDWIN BACASMAS/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Chinese Communication Construction Co. (CCCC), which currently has several projects in the Philippines, should be banned from doing business in the country, retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said. Carpio told the Inquirer on Friday that the China state-owned company was allegedly involved in Manila’s maritime conflict with Beijing in the South China Sea. “The Chinese companies that dredged the atoll reefs in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) to create artificial islands irreversibly destroyed the marine environment in the KIG. This was the finding of the arbitral tribunal,” Carpio said. He added that CCCC’s alleged activities in the South China Sea “clearly violated Philippine environmental laws” and “worse, they helped China seize Philippine island territories and maritime zones in the KIG.” The United States embassy in Manila has called out CCCC’s reclamation activities in Manila Bay. It was one of the 24 companies blacklisted by the US in 2020 for alleged reclamation activities in the South China Sea. —Jacob Lazaro