Officials from the Philippines and Indonesia recently met to gear up for the delimitation of continental shelf boundary between the two countries, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday, Nov. 2.
The preparatory meeting between the two countries was held on Oct. 28 via video conference.
The Philippine delegation was led by DFA-Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office Assistant Secretary Maria Angela Ponce while the Indonesian delegation was spearheaded by Director Bebeb A.K.N. Djundjunan, of the Legal Affairs and Territorial Treaties Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the meeting, "both sides affirmed the rule of law, including UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), in the delimitation of boundaries."
They also discussed the principles and guidelines of the continental shelf boundary delimitation, identification of respective base points, and timeline and structure of future meetings.
According to the Foreign Affairs department, the preparatory meeting was a follow-through to the agreement to commence discussions on the delimitation of the continental shelf during the 11th Philippines-Indonesia Joint Permanent Working Group on Maritime and Ocean Concerns (JPWG-MOC) hosted by the Philippines in May 2021.
"The Philippines and Indonesia are eager to commence and lay down the foundation of the road to achieving another milestone in bilateral relations after the 'Agreement Concerning the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone Boundary' entered into force in 2019," the DFA said.