The supposed “new model” agreement between the Philippines and China that aims to manage the situation at Ayungin Shoal is not binding, former Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said.

In a press briefing held Wednesday, Carpio said that the commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command (AFP-Wescom) is not authorized to commit to a deal with another state.

“The Wescom officer has no authority because under our system of government, only the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) can negotiate and conclude treaties on behalf of the President. The President gives the authority and it’s the DFA that will implement it,” he said.

“What China does is, they will just talk to everybody and say ‘Oh, the Philippine government has committed’. That is not proper and it will not bind us because the person they are talking to has no authority,” he added.

Carpio said the Chinese embassy should be called out for not going through the proper channels when negotiating agreements with the country.

“I think we should call out the Chinese embassy, that they cannot do that. They cannot just go to any government official and then negotiate. That’s not the way the diplomats work. You have to course it through the proper channel, that’s the Department of Foreign Affairs,” he said.Jaspearl Tan/DMS