THE country has signed a new oceans treaty under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which seeks to better protect marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
The treaty applies to areas that are beyond any nation’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ)
Coastal states such as the Philippines are allowed to have a 200-mile EEZ in which they enjoy exclusive right to exploit marine and other natural resources within it.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said Manila joined over 70 nations in signing the landmark treaty on Wednesday.
“Honored to sign the historic agreement under the 1982 UNCLOS on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement. The Philippines is proud to take this step to protect the world’s oceans for present and future generations,” Manalo said in a tweet while he was in New York representing the country at the 78th UN General Assembly.
The treaty, according to Manalo, also seeks to address challenges in the world’s oceans such as pollution, climate change and overfishing.
The agreement will enter into force 120 days after 60 countries ratify or approve it.
Manila’s signing of the treaty comes as Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said his office is studying legal options to take against the harvesting of corals and destruction of reefs in the Rozul (Iroquois) Reef and Sabina (Escoda) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), allegedly by Chinese vessels.
Guevarra and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said government may bring a case against China before the international tribunal over the destruction of the marine environment in the WPS.
Earlier, the DFA through the Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ambassador Carlos Sorreta and DFA Assistant Secretary for Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office Maria Angela Ponce urged the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to rule that State Parties to the UNCLOS have obligations to protect and preserve the marine environment.
Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza expressed support for Guevarra’s move, saying the OSG that should take the lead in filing a new complaint against Beijing before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
He said it was the OSG that took the lead when the administration of the late President Benigno Aquino III decided to lodge a complaint against China before the PCA in 2013, challenging Beijing’s sweeping claim in the South China Sea (SCS), including the WPS, under its so-called nine dash line.
In 2016, the arbitral tribunal ruled in Manila’s favor and held that Beijing’s massive claim has no legal or historical basis.
Jardeleza was the solicitor general at the time the Aquino administration decided to bring the arbitral case against China. He served as solicitor general from 2012 until 2014 when he was appointed by Aquino to the Supreme Court.
Jardeleza also said there is no need for the government to hire foreign lawyers to assist the country in filing a new case against China because there are enough Filipino lawyers and experts who can do the job.
Tapping Filipino lawyers will also help reduce government expenses, he said.
Sen. Francis Tolentino said the destruction of corals and reefs in the WPS can only worsen effects of natural disasters such as tsunamis which, he added, can eventually put coastal communities at risk.
“Coral reefs act as natural barriers, protecting coastlines from storms, wave erosion, and tsunamis. They help dissipate the energy of waves, reducing the impact on coastal communities and infrastructure,” Tolentino said, chairman of the Senate committee on maritime and admiralty zones.
“With the loss of reefs, coastal areas will become more susceptible to these natural hazards, putting coastal communities at greater risk. The destruction of the corals can result in stronger waves,” he added.
Tolentino, who chairs the Senate Maritime and Admiralty Zones panel, further said that since corals and reefs are interconnected ecosystems, the destruction of one will produce a larger tsunami which will have effects on the coastal communities.
