MARITIME ZONES. Department of Foreign Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary Maria Elena Cristina Maningat speaks during the Waypoints forum on the Maritime Zones Act in Quezon City on Tuesday (April 2, 2024). She said the enactment of the maritime zones bill is vital to allow for the Philippines to protect its fish stocks, oil and gas reserves, and other maritime resources from overexploitation. (Photo courtesy of UP College of Law)
MANILA – The enactment of the Maritime Zones Act is vital for the Philippines to protect its fish stocks, oil and gas reserves, and other maritime resources from overexploitation, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.
Speaking at the Waypoints forum in Quezon City, DFA Deputy Assistant Secretary for Maritime and Ocean Affairs Maria Elena Cristina Maningat said the law would reflect the government’s commitment to upholding the country's rights under international laws, specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Ruling.
“A law on maritime zones would help stimulate economic growth in the Philippines by making the government effectively regulate maritime activities such as fishing, shipping and offshore exploration and development," she said.
“This will provide opportunities for local communities to participate in these activities and generate revenues for the government for the benefit of the Filipino people," she added.
Maningat said its enactment would also send a “strong signal” that the Philippines is an international law-abiding nation as it would harmonize domestic laws with the UNCLOS.
UP Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea Director Jay Batongbacal said the law would serve as the form of Arbitral Ruling “enforcement” the public is looking for.
“It's just that people seem to have this misimpression that you need somebody else to do it for you. Now, this actually proves that we can do it,” he said.
“We can implement the South China Sea arbitration on our own,” he added.
National Mapping and Resource Information Authority Deputy Administrator Efren Carandang, who is also a member of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, agreed that the law is essential as a “follow-through act” to Manila ratifying the UNCLOS.
“In terms of our commitment to the international community, if we enact this Maritime Zones bill, then we are fully aligning the definitions of our maritime zones with those of the UNCLOS,” he said.
Amid objections
In the same forum, Presidential Assistant for Maritime Concerns and former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Andres Centino (ret.) defended the soon-to-be-enacted law amid China’s objections.
“It's an assertion of our rights,” he told reporters in an interview. “It's all for our own good. [T]hey can say what they want to say, but we're doing that to protect our maritime interest.”
Centino is optimistic that the law would be enacted before the third State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in July.
China has repeatedly protested the passage of Maritime Zones bill, saying it would “escalate and expand” the disputes between Beijing and Manila due to the inclusion of the Kalayaan Island Group and the Scarborough Shoal.
It also warned that the law would “jeopardize” the larger interest of bilateral relations.
Days after the March water cannon incident in the Ayungin Shoal, a Chinese official spoke to a group of Filipino journalists on the condition of Chatham House Rules and bared that they are “in the process of a political consultation” on the subject of the proposed law.
“If you include the award inside, then it will become a law, then we have to act in response, then it will squeeze the room for maneuver -- that means when the Chinese Coast Guards enforce (the Chinese law), we can arrest your fishermen in that case, and then yours will have to arrest us,” the official said.
Batongbacal stood pat that Beijing has no business in objecting Manila’s move to enact the law.
He said the fact that Beijing is objecting to this domestic legislation “in a way, is already getting close to attempting foreign intervention.”
“They're trying to intervene in our political and legislative affairs in this sense. Naturally, that is contrary to international law, and it should not be the one that defines our relationship,” he told reporters.
“We're not the ones who are going against international law. It's China that is doing that by objecting to our implementation of international law,” he added.
Useless
Senator Francis Tolentino, sponsor of Senate Bill No. 2492 or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act previously said China's opposition is "futile" and would not deter Filipinos from upholding their rights under international law.
"As an independent nation, China cannot veto our Maritime Zones Law," he told reporters. "Any objections from China must be met with unwavering defense of our sovereign rights and adherence to lawful arbitration outcomes."
China does not recognize the 2016 Arbitral Award, which ruled that its claims to historic rights in the South China Sea “are without legal effect.” (PNA)
