House OKs bill declaring PH maritime zones amidst tensions with China
By Christina Michaela Cambiado, Gwyneth Cruz, and Rowz Fajardo
House Bill No. (HB) 9981 or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act seeks to declare maritime zones under the jurisdiction of the Republic of the Philippines was approved on second reading by the House of the Representatives last November 29, as the country’s tensions with China over claims in the West Philippine Sea persist.
This bill firmly establishes the country’s legal rights to conduct social, economic, commercial, and other activities in the covered areas including the internal waters, archipelagic waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, economic zones (EZ), and continental shelf.
Declaring maritime zones
Via voice voting, the House of the Representatives approved HB №9981, which provides for a general declaration of the maritime zones of the country which is in accordance with the delineation provided under Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) which states that continental shelves extend beyond 200 nautical miles.
By defining the maritime zones of the country, HB 9981 aims to provide flexibility in enacting laws pertinent to the rights and obligations that the Philippines can exercise over its maritime zones.
The said bill further consolidates three other bills proposing to declare and define the maritime zones under the jurisdiction of the country. These bills were authored by Deputy Speaker and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Magdalo Partylist Rep. Manuel DG Cabochan, and Committee chairperson and Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Anne Hofer.
Meanwhile, in the Senate, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III filed Senate Bill №2289 or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, which also aims to identify maritime zones of the country.
Recent maritime conflicts
Recently, before the approval of HB 9981, tension spiked in the West Philippines after China Coast Guard vessels blocked and water cannoned Philippine supply boats on a resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
Although no one was hurt from the incident, the Philippine boats had to initially abort their mission. The Chinese coast guard also demanded the removal of the grounded Filipino ships.
The BRP Sierra Madre has been in Ayungin Shoal since 1999 and is considered a Philippine government post manned by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel.
Exercising sovereignty
According to maritime experts, the country needs to pass a legislation that will be the legal basis or reference of the country’s maritime borders. Thus, making the boundaries explicitly clear amid its dispute with China.
In her sponsorship speech, Palawan Second District Rep. Cyrille Abueg-Zaldivar, vice-chairperson of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and a principal author of HB 9981, underscored the need to pass the bill immediately as this has long been overdue, considering the recent incidents of China Coast Guard vessels blocking Philippine boats.
Furthermore, Abueg-Zaldivar said that if the bill becomes a law, this will allow the country to further exercise its sovereignty over its waters.
Earlier this year, Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro appealed to the House leader to approve the bill to immediately counter the intrusion of Chinese coast guards within the Philippine territory.
“I am urging the House leadership to take up and approve the bill which will strengthen our position on the West Philippine Sea. This will counter the Chinese law allowing its coast guard to fire at perceived intruders in the entire South China Sea, which illegally includes our West Philippine Sea,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
In the 2016 ruling of The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, where the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone is located, were invalidated. However, China continues to disregard the said ruling.
