ARCHIPELAGIC DOCTRINE

Committee studies bill defining country’s archipelagic baselines

Committee Source: FOREIGN AFFAIRS

A LEGISLATIVE proposal seeking to define the archipelagic baselines of the Philippines to conform with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is now under consideration by the Committee on Foreign Affairs headed by Representative Antonio Cuenco (2nd District, Cebu City).The proposal, embodied in House Bill 1973 and authored by the Committee chair, in effect, will amend Republic Act 3046 or the law which earlier defined the baselines of the territorial sea of the Philippines, as amended by RA 5446.The UNCLOS, which took effect on November 4, 1994, provides that an archipelagic state is a “group of islands including parts of islands, interconnecting waters and other natural features which are so closely interrelated that such islands, waters and other natural features form an intrinsic geographical, economic and political entity, or which historically have been regarded as such.”In his explanatory note, Rep. Cuenco stressed the necessity to establish a new baseline law to serve as a basis for drawing the 12-mile nautical territorial sea, the 24 mile contiguous zone and the 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as provided under the UNCLOS.Likewise, he pointed out that the proposed law shall also serve as the official notification to all States on the extent of the limits of the maritime zone of the Philippine archipelago and thus avert any unnecessary dispute with vessels of foreign States entering Philippine maritime territory without permission.The Committee chair added that RA 3046 was enacted in 1961 and was amended by RA 5446 in 1968 long before the effectivity of the UNCLOS and the recognition of the archipelagic doctrine. He further mentioned that the bill seeks to include the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) into the country’s archipelagic baseline by virtue of historic right and legal title. The KIG consists of about 75 islands, cays, shoals and bank reefs with a total area of 68,807 nautical square miles. During the meeting of the Committee on the bill, Rep. Antonio Alvarez (1st District, Palawan) suggested that a provision be included in the proposed law in order to accommodate the jurisdictional claims of local government units (LGUs) over natural resources which will be affected by the new baselines.He also informed the body that he is filing a bill creating a national committee that will focus on the Philippines’ claim to an extended continental shelf (ECS) of 200 nautical miles under the 1982 UNCLOS or UNCLOS III to cover its territorial claim to the KIG, the part of the disputed Spratlys on which it has staked ownership.According to reports, there is a compelling possibility that the country has unexploited reserves estimated to be between 2 to 28 billion barrels of oil which are believed to be deposited in the disputed KIG into which the country’s continental shelf – a shallow, underwater continuation of the Palawan Island, is believed to extend. To get its hand on this rich natural resource, Manila must prove before the UN, using geologic evidence, the Philippines’ rights over the area.Ambassador Alberto Encomienda of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center (MOAC), however, said that the UNCLOS defines “continental shelf” under a juridical concept, that is, a coastal state like the Philippines is automatically recognized to have a continental shelf 200 NM from its baseline or land borders. Thus, he said if a country believes its continental shelf extends beyond 200 NM, it has to prove this claim based on the technical and scientific guidelines set by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.“In the case of the Philippines, the extended continental shelf shall be valid only in the Pacific shore because we are expected to have therein a boundary with a so-called sea bed authority,” he said. He added that under the UNCLOS, a claim to an overlapping extended continental shelf can be resolved by negotiation. Department of National Defense (DND) Undersecretary Ariston delos Reyes, meanwhile, commented that the proposed bill is silent on the definition of internal waters. He maintained that territorial waters should not extend more than 12 nautical miles beyond archipelagic baselines nor should contiguous waters go beyond 24 nautical miles from the baseline. Neither should EEZs extend beyond 200 nautical miles from such baseline,” he added. The same view was shared by Philippine Navy (PN) Lt. Col. Jose Johriel Cenabre.From the National Security Council, Clarissa Ruote-Garcio, a national security specialist, opined that the interest of the country must always be considered in defining the country’s baselines. Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Guillermo Balce expressed support for the bill saying that it will not prejudice the claim of the local government of Palawan in the Malampaya oil and gas fields.Meanwhile, Rep. Cuenco gave four options regarding the delineation of the baselines for consideration by the Committee.The first option encloses the Philippine archipelago and Scarborough shoal with 135 baselines, four of which are long baselines. The KIG will be declared under the regime of islands. The second option encloses the Philippine archipelago with 111 baselines, three of which are long baselines. The KIG and Scarborough shoals are under the regime of islands.The third option encloses the Philippine archipelago and KIG with 102 baselines, three of which are long baselines, while the last option encloses the Philippine archipelago, Scarborough shoals and KIG with 134 baselines, four of which are long baselines.Encomienda said the third and fourth options are not feasible because dealing with the KIG issue may not be timely. “We feel that establishing the baselines by amending RA 3046 and 5546 to conform to the UN laws is safer and easier,” he said. Similarly, Commodore Henry Catapang and Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Chief State Counsel Ruben Fondevilla chose the first option because it is less contentious. Fondevilla added that the other options carry a lot of implications particularly on the issue of the KIG with regard to rival country claimants. Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Lt. Cmdr. Ramon Rebnora, for his part, expressed support for the measure saying that PCG’s mandate calls for maritime environmental protection. He also preferred the first option because it conforms with the UNCLOS. Dr. Antonio Socrates, a representative of the governor and vice-governor of Palawan, however, favored the third and fourth options. The Committee is scheduled to hold an executive meeting to finally decide on the best option regarding the delineation of the country’s archipelagic baselines.

Source: Committee Administrative Support Service, Committee Affairs Department