Philippines enacts laws asserting maritime claims
New legislations enforce 2016 Hague arbitral ruling in favor of the Philippines, says a senator.
MANILA - The Philippines has enacted two laws to bolster its maritime claims including in the South China Sea, leading to an annoyed Beijing, which claims almost the entire sea, summoning Manila’s envoy to protest.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the laws at a time of heightened tension in the South China Sea, where confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels have dramatically risen in recent months.
The laws aim to declare the country’s maritime zones in accordance with the standards set by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and seek to confine foreign vessels and aircraft to designated archipelagic sea lanes.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr described the new laws as a clear demonstration of his administration’s commitment to protect the country’s maritime resources, conserve its biodiversity, and ensure that Philippine waters continue to support life and provide livelihoods for Filipinos.
“With these pieces of legislation, we align our domestic laws with international law … improve our capacity for governance and reinforce our maritime policies for economic development and for national security,” Marcos said on Friday.
The two laws are called the Philippine Maritime Zones Act (Republic Act No. 12064) and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act (Republic Act No. 12065).
“By defining and asserting our maritime zones, we project to the international community that we are staunchly committed to nurturing, cultivating and protecting our maritime domain,” Marcos said.
In response, Beijing summoned the Philippines’ envoy to China “to lodge solemn representations” over the passage of the two laws.
Beijing told the envoy that it had already rejected a 2016 arbitration court by the international court in The Hague, which invalidated China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea in a case brought by the Philippines.
In 2012, China took possession of a disputed South China Sea shoal, forcing the Philippines to file the lawsuit before the world court. Four years later, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in Manila’s favor.
But for Beijing, Manila’s new maritime zones law “illegally includes most of China’s Huangyan Island and Nansha Islands and related maritime areas in the Philippines’ maritime zones,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said, using the Chinese names for the Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands.
“China urges the Philippine side to effectively respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, to immediately stop taking any unilateral actions that may lead to the widening of the dispute and complicate the situation,” said spokeswoman Mao Ning.
“Should the Philippines take any infringing or provocative actions in the South China Sea based on this law, China will respond resolutely.”
China claims almost the entire South China Sea while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, have overlapping claims to parts of it, as does Taiwan.
Sovereign rights
Sen. Francis Tolentino, who authored the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, said the law is an enforcement of the 2016 arbitral ruling.
The laws, he said, “would really enshrine, domesticate in our Philippine laws what we obtained through the 2016 arbitral ruling.”
“[N]umber two, for the first time, we’re now legislating the name ‘West Philippine Sea’.”
He was referring to Manila’s name for South China Sea waters within its exclusive economic zone.
Philippine Senate President Francis Escudero said the newly signed laws would ensure the “utilization of our rich resources in our territorial waters for the benefit of our people.”
The Philippine Air Force, however, warned that China might use the new laws to allow its military aircraft to claim safe passage over the contested waters.
“This might be exploited by the enemy because this would also serve as a passageway for them,” said Brig. Gen. Leo Fontanilla, commander of 5th Fighter Wing of the Philippine Air Forces, earlier this week.
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How Manila will enforce the two new laws will unfold in the near future, even as Beijing continues its actions to solidify its claims in the disputed waterway.
Sen. Tolentino said tensions in the region “will not instantly be diluted” with the passage of the laws. But the measures would “really fortify our sovereignty as an independent republic.”
One Chinese security expert said confrontations in the South China Sea will likely continue.
“China and the Philippines have disputes and claims. Of course, China will not like this kind of domestic law,” said Hu Bo, director of the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative.
“As for Beijing’s perspective, the maritime zone will overlap with Beijing’s claims. So, there [will be] some disputes and maybe confrontations,” he told news outlet ABS-CBN News.
But Filipino maritime expert Jay Batongbacal told ABS-CBN that Beijing should not see Manila’s move as an escalation of the tensions in the waters.
“We did not expand our claims,” he said.
“We just clarified it because all our claims are based on the law.”
Jojo Riñoza in Manila contributed to this story.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.
