Sen. Francis Tolentino said on Monday, February 19, that the final measure on archipelagic sea lanes (ASLs) to be submitted to the Senate Plenary will be finished before the holy week in March.

Wrapping up the hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones, chaired by Tolentino, he formed a technical working group (TWG) that will focus on fine-tuning the consolidated bills designating archipelagic sea lanes (ASLs) in the Philippines.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), an archipelagic state like the Philippines may designate ASLs for “continuous and expeditious passage of foreign ships and aircraft through or over its archipelagic waters and the adjacent territorial sea.”

The TWG formed by Tolentino, will be composed of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Security Council (NSC), the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

“It’s about time to move forward especially with the current geopolitical climate— to form a TWG that would consolidate all the six measures including the House Bill calling for the adoption of the ASL,” Sen. Tol said during the panel’s deliberation on the bills.

Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Teodoro Locsin, who is also the Philippine Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) affirmed the need for the ASL law.

“We are [one of] the only two serious archipelagos on the planet. As sprawling archipelagos, we are most vulnerable in this particular aspect; our major islands are the sizes of many countries; the waterways between them offer wide approaches. We can be taken piecemeal,” Locsin remarked.

While the Ambassador explained that “it will take some time” for the IMO to adopt the Philippine proposal for ASLs, he expressed strong support on starting the conduct immediately.

The ASL measures subject to refinement by the TWG propose three ASLs namely the Philippine Sea Balintang Channel WPS, Celebes Sea Sibutu Passage-Sulu Sea Cuyo East Pass Mindoro Strait WPS. and Celebes-Sea Basilan Strait Sulu Sea- Nasubata Channel Balabac Strait.

Several experts from different agencies and the academe also collectively reminded the Committee to observe the proper process in pushing for the ASL.

In the previous hearing, Tolentino stressed that once the ASL law is enacted, and eventually accepted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), it can strengthen the position of the Philippines in the ongoing territorial disputes and aggression of adversarial countries.