FOR several years now, government and many Filipinos have been accusing China of grabbing “our territory” in the South China Sea which has been traditionally ours since the birth of the Republic, without realizing that for years, the Philippines did not have a national baseline law until President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Republic Act 9522 in 2009.
Following the unlamented 2012 standoff with China over Scarborough Shoal, the Philippines filed its claim with the Permanent Court of Arbitration which ruled in 2016 that China’s so-called nine-dash line claim over the whole of the South China Sea and encroaching on the part of the waters we call West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The Philippines won in that “court,” but the pyrrhic victory cost so much with little use as China did not participate in the proceedings and rejected the PCA decision. The ruling did nothing to change the status quo, and even former President Rodrigo Duterte called it just a piece of paper.
‘Leaving the Philippine maritime zones largely undefined will slow our ability to responsibly exploit and develop our resources…’
As the geopolitical situation in the region continues to heat up, with both the United States and China competing for spheres of influence, our lawmakers are thinking of ways to bolster our position.
Sen. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian is pushing for the enactment of legislation that would establish the Philippine maritime zones and in effect reinforce the 2016 landmark arbitral victory that the country secured against China.
The Senate created a Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones, headed by Sen. Francis “Tol” Tolentino to study and recommend action on all proposals and resolutions emanating from the senators on maritime matters. This committee had just had its organizational and initial session, during which Gatchalian said his bill delineating the Philippines’ maritime zones will strengthen and help enforce the country’s claim over the WPS.
Under the measure proposed by Gatchalian, the country’s maritime zones will comprise the internal waters, archipelagic waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and continental shelf in accordance with international law. The senator filed a separate bill seeking the designation of the country’s archipelagic lanes.
The bill also intends to clearly define the country’s maritime zones, harmonizing domestic laws on maritime territory with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Gatchalian believes that his bill would fortify the geographical extent of our maritime domain.
Senator Tolentino, meanwhile, stressed that defining the Philippine maritime zones will “allow Filipinos to responsibly enjoy the bounty of the Philippines’ rich maritime and archipelagic waters.”
Leaving the Philippine maritime zones largely undefined will slow our ability to responsibly exploit and develop our resources, he said, pointing out the vast fisheries and energy resources in the Philippine maritime zones would be better harnessed and utilized by Filipinos with the enactment of such law.
”The West Philippine Sea has almost 40 percent of the maritime domain, but accounts only for 6.36 percent of the total fisheries production of the country in 2022,” Tolentino pointed out.
The efforts of these senators to use their legislative mandate to solidify our West Philippine Sea claim deserve the support of the whole nation.
