FINDING ANSWERS
A watershed moment it certainly was when two pieces of legislation authored by Sen. Francis Tolentino were signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last Nov. 8.
The two new laws—RA 12064 which declared the maritime zones under Philippine jurisdiction, and RA 12065 which established sea lanes for foreign vessels to exercise the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage—were 18 years in the making, Sen. Tolentino pointed out.
The new maritime laws aligned the Philippines’ legal framework with international law, notably the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 arbitral ruling.
The principle of archipelagic doctrine, under UNCLOS, enables the Philippines “to define its territorial waters based on straight baselines drawn around the outermost islands of the archipelago, effectively protecting the nation’s maritime zones from encroachment.” RA 12064, also known as the Maritime Zones Act, codified such principle into national law.
The new law provides for sovereign rights over the Philippines’ maritime zones, establishing the country’s exclusive rights to explore and exploit living and nonliving resources found in the zones, in compliance with UNCLOS and the arbitral ruling.
RA 12065 or the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, on the other hand, designates specific navigation routes through Philippine waters, balancing the right of innocent passage with national security concerns. It aims to prevent arbitrary international passage within the Philippine archipelago and it prescribes the rights and obligations of foreign ships and aircraft passing through or above the established archipelagic sea lanes.
“These sea lanes will offer continuous, expeditious, and unobstructed transit for vessels and air transport while obliging them to comply with navigational regulations and procedures, as well as with the air rules of flight safety and protocols," President Marcos Jr. said after he signed the two measures.
The passage of the new laws “demonstrates the country's commitment as a responsible member of the international community and advocacy to uphold rules-based international order,” he explained.
“The Philippines reaffirms its sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in our waters. By defining and asserting our maritime zones, we project to the international community that we are staunchly committed to nurturing, cultivating, and protecting our maritime domain,” Marcos declared.
The enactment of these laws has drawn robust support from Philippines' key allies like the United States, Japan, Australia, India, France, and South Korea which have expressed solidarity through joint naval patrols and advocacy for a rules-based international order.
“These laws represent a brave step forward, and a victory for every Filipino. This is for every citizen who stands for a sovereign Philippines, where not a single inch of our territory is given up to any foreign power. This is for the future of our youth, where all the resources that fall within our jurisdiction are harnessed for our people's enjoyment and benefit,” Sen. Tolentino said.
“The West Philippine Sea will be more than just a term, but will be formally defined and enshrined for the first time in national legislation. Consider this as the birth certificate of the WPS,” he explained.
Very true, indeed, on how the birth of WPS is enshrined. Section 2 of RA 12064 clearly states: “The maritime zones of the Philippines on the western side of the Philippine archipelago, including the Luzon Sea and the territorial seas of Bajo de Masinloc and the maritime features of the Kalayaan Island Group, shall be collectively called the West Philippine Sea.”