A measure that would define the country's maritime zones while harmonizing domestic laws on its maritime territory with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, had been filed in the Senate.

Senate Bill 2394, or The Philippine Maritime Zones Act, seeks the declaration of maritime zones under the Philippines' jurisdiction.

"The proposed measure seeks not only to update existing Philippine maritime laws but more importantly, delineate and emphasize our maritime zones and boundaries," the bill's proponent said.

By declaring the Philippines' maritime zone boundaries, the country will be fortifying the geographical extent of its maritime domain, according to the measure.

According to the bill, the declaration would guide Filipinos on their rights and entitlements in the country's different maritime zones.

The country signed and ratified UNCLOS in 1982 and 1984, respectively, to strengthen its legal and institutional framework for maritime governance and claim for maritime zone allocations as an archipelagic state.

As proposed, the country's maritime zones shall comprise the internal waters, archipelagic waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf by international law.

SB 2394 defines the extent of the country's territorial sea at 12 nautical miles, its contiguous zone at 24 nautical miles, and its EEZ at 200 nautical miles.

The House of Representatives approved on final reading last May its version of a proposed measure creating the country's maritime zones.

The Philippines secured in 2016 a landmark arbitral ruling that said China's claim of a so-called nine-dash line covering the West Philippine Sea had no basis in law and was without legal effect.

The upper chamber has created a special committee that will exclusively tackle proposed maritime zone and sea lanes measures. It will convene for the first time this week.

The Archipelagic Sea Lanes bill is among the topics to be discussed by the special panel, which Senator Francis Tolentino will chair.

"After that, we hope to finish Senate Bill 654 and that is the Philippine Navy Archipelagic Defense Act," Tolentino said.

The creation of the special committee was proposed last July at the height of China's aggressive actions in the WPS.