A measure that would clearly define the country's maritime zones and harmonize domestic laws on maritime territory with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has been filed in the upper chamber.
Senator Win Gatchalian authored and filed Senate Bill 2394, or The Philippine Maritime Zones Act, seeking the declaration of maritime zones under the Philippines' jurisdiction.
"The proposed measure seeks not only to update existing Philippine maritime laws but more importantly delineates and emphasizes our maritime zones and boundaries," he said.
Gatchalian also emphasized that by declaring the Philippines' maritime zone boundaries, the country will be fortifying the geographical extent of its maritime domain.
"This, in turn, will provide guidance for Filipinos as well as the country's armed forces and civilian law enforcers on the rights and entitlements of the country's different maritime zones and enable the country's maritime institutions to advance national interests," he said.
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Gatchalian noted that when the country signed and ratified UNCLOS in 1982 and 1984, it was intended as a step toward strengthening its legal and institutional framework for maritime governance and claim for maritime zone allocations as an archipelagic state.
"However, it does not stop with the country's adoption of the UNCLOS as there is a need to harmonize existing Philippine laws with the UNCLOS and establish the legal regimes and geographical extent of these maritime zones in accordance with UNCLOS," he said.
As proposed, the country's maritime zones shall comprise the internal waters, archipelagic waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in accordance with international law.
SB 2394 defines the extent of the country's territorial sea at 12 nautical miles, contiguous zone at 24 nautical miles and EEZ at 200 nautical miles.
The House of Representatives approved on final reading in May this year its version of a proposed measure creating the country's maritime zones.
The Philippines secured in 2016 a landmark arbitral ruling that China's so-called nine-dash line claim over the West Philippine Sea had no basis in law and without legal effect.
