(File photo)
MANILA – The Philippine and Indonesian governments have signed the principles and guidelines for the delimitation of their continental shelf boundary, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.
The DFA said the document would guide and lay the foundation for the delimitation, which had been identified as a key priority during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, President Joko Widodo, in September.
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Maria Angela Ponce and Ambassador Andreano Erwin, Director for Legal Affairs and Territorial Treaties of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, signed for the Philippines and Indonesia, respectively.
"The signing of the Principles and Guidelines marked an important step for the continental shelf boundary delimitation of the two countries as it reaffirms the provisions under UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) 1982 as the basis of the delimitation process," the DFA said.
The technical teams afterward reiterated their commitment to expedite the process of negotiations.
Indonesia hosted the first meeting in Bali in July 2022 and Manila is set to host the next meeting in 2023.
Both Marcos and Widodo earlier reaffirmed that the negotiation of the continental shelf boundary delimitation would be carried out following UNCLOS.
The Philippines and Indonesia are the two largest archipelagic states in the world.
They concluded the landmark agreement delimiting their exclusive economic zones in 2014 and have started negotiations on their continental shelf delimitation. (PNA)
