MANILA — The Philippines should file a fresh case against China over its installation of barriers in the Bajo de Masinloc, also called Scarborough Shoal, in the West Philippine Sea, former Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza said Monday.

The Philippine Coast Guard on Sunday said they discovered last Friday the 300-meter-long barrier in the area that prevented Filipino fishermen from entering the traditional fishing ground.

• Chinese barrier keeping Filipino fishers out of Scarborough: PCG

Speaking on ANC's "Headstart," Jardeleza — who was part of the Aquino administration's legal team that took China to international court — said the latest action of Beijing is "completely illegal."

He suggested that the Office of the Solicitor General lodge a case against China anew before the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.

"What we can do since we are not a powerful country… my recommendation is for Office of the Solicitor General to file a new case to bring again China… for this illegal action," said Jardeleza, a former Supreme Court Associate Justice.

"Nobody has [exclusive] right over the fishing grounds of Scarborough Shoal because that's [a] common fishing ground for artisanal fishing meaning mga bangka (boats)… not this commercial fishers... the logical next step is we file a new case."

The government, Jardeleza said, should also "couple the case with damages" due to China's recent alleged destructive activities affecting the environment and corals in parts of the West Philippine Sea.

"They cannot do anything to degrade the environment," he noted.

• Philippines mulls fresh complaint vs China before Hague-based tribunal

'WON’T WEAKEN FIRST WIN'

In 2016, The Hague ruled in favor of Manila and declared that Beijing's nine-dash line claims in the South China Sea had no legal basis.

The decision also said that China had failed to respect fishing rights in Bajo de Masinloc by barring access to it.

Jardeleza believes that filing a new case against China will not weaken that country's victory.

"In fact, it will supplement, it will complement, and it will make [it] stronger," he said, "because [in] our first victory, we did not ask for damages, we just asked for the declaration of rights."