Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 26) — China will attempt to reclaim the disputed Scarborough Shoal in three years' time or before President Rodrigo Duterte’s term ends, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said.

He said that when they have reclaimed it, China will finally sign the legally-binding Code of Conduct in the disputed South China Sea to solidify their claim.

"After they finish the reclamation, their island-building in the Scarborough Shoal, they will say, 'Let's sign the Code of Conduct. Nobody builds anything anymore. Everything will freeze and that will legitimize what they have created. Their artificial islands," Carpio said in a maritime reporting seminar for journalists on Wednesday.

The senior associate justice said China is confident because Duterte himself said he could not stop them from building structures in the shoal, locally known as Panatag or Bajo de Masinloc. He said the President's pronouncement means that the Philippine government will not send a Navy ship or a coast guard vessel even if China dredges the area. But without an armed attack, the Philippines cannot invoke its mutual defense treaty with the United States.

"Reclamation will be completed and that's it. You cannot tell the Americans later on, because we did not do our part. So, my take, they will reclaim before the end of President Duterte," he said.

The Philippines lost Scarborough Shoal to China after a controversial standoff in 2012. China blocked Filipino fishermen from Scarborough, also known as Panatag Shoal, which lies 120 nautical miles from Zambales. This prompted Manila to file a case for international arbitration, which it largely won.

The landmark ruling in July 2016 recognized the Philippines' sovereign rights to some areas in its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. Although it did not rule on which country has sovereignty over Scarborough, it called out China for violating the Filipinos' traditional fishing rights in the area.

China rejects the arbitration ruling and insists on its sweeping claim to almost the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, or areas the Philippines either claims or occupies in the global waterway. Beijing has built artificial islands, blocked Filipino fishermen from entering, and interfered in oil exploration activities in the West Philippine Sea.