‘Protect Pinoy WPS fishermen’

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) on Sunday called on the government to provide protection to Filipino fishermen operating in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The IBP maintained that Filipino fishermen have the legal right to fish within the 200-mile Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), adding the government is “duty-bound” to ensure the fishermen are not deprived of their livelihood.

The statement came amid rising tensions between the Philippines and China over territorial claims in the South China Sea, also known as the West Philippine Sea in the Philippines.

“The Integrated Bar of the Philippines also supports the legitimate stand of the Philippine government in asserting our country’s lawful and sovereign rights over the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea,” the group said.

The IBP pointed out that both the Philippines and China are signatories to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which grants coastal states sovereign rights over their Exclusive Economic Zones, extending up to 200 nautical miles from their baselines.

“Therefore, the West Philippine Sea is inside the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone to the extent of 200 miles measured from our country’s archipelagic baselines,” the IBP said.

The group added that the EEZ includes Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal, which is located 120 nautical miles from Zambales and 196 nautical miles from Palawan.

The Philippine government maintains a military presence in the area with the BRP Sierra Madre, a ship that was intentionally run aground in 1999.

The IBP said the Philippines’ claims were bolstered by a 2016 decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that confirmed the Philippines has sovereign rights over its 200-mile EEZ in the WPS.

“This decision clarified that the Philippines shall enjoy all economic rights within its EEZ, including fishing, resource exploration, and marine conservation,” the IBP explained.

IBP also cited the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which concluded the Spanish-American War, as evidence of the Philippines’ territorial rights.

It said Article III of the treaty shows Spain ceded “all rights of sovereignty over the Philippines, including the waters surrounding the islands” to the United States.