Maritime zones seen to enforce Philippine arbitral win

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

MARITIME experts on Wednesday urged Congress to prioritize the passage of a bill that seeks to establish the Philippines’ maritime zones.

“We would actually be taking a step to implement and enforce the South China Sea arbitration award [if the maritime zone bill is passed],” Jay L. Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, told a forum. 

The measure would give a “very clear idea of what it is that we are trying to preserve and manage, and what it is that we will not be giving up,” he added. 

The proposed law would establish “with clarity and certainty” the exact bounds of the Philippines’ maritime entitlements under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and other international laws, said Toff Lamug, senior program officer at think tank Waypoints, which organized the forum.

China, which claims more than 80% of the South China Sea, has ignored a 2016 ruling by a United Nations-backed arbitration court that voided its claim based on a 1940s map.

The Philippines, which is being backed by the United States and its allies to ensure freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, has been unable to enforce the ruling and has since filed hundreds of protests over what it calls encroachment and harassment by China’s coast guard and its vast fishing fleet.

Enacting a law declaring the country’s maritime zones will have more implications for China, Mr. Batongbacal said, because it shows that other Southeast Asian countries with territorial claims can “act consistently with the award and that undermines [China’s] position that they own the South China Sea.” 

The House passed the bill in March, while it is still pending in the Senate.

Julio S. Amador III, chief executive officer at Amador Research Services, said the country’s marine security policy needs to be updated.

“The mention and importance given to nontraditional security issues including protection and conservation of our marine resources and the importance of sustainable development is not sufficient,” he told the forum.

The Philippines maritime threats including illegal fishing, sea terrorism, piracy, smuggling, human trafficking, marine pollution and environmental degradation, and gray zone activities, Mr. Amador said, citing Waypoints’ 2022 civil maritime security report.

He said the county’s maritime agenda and framework is no longer responsive to current realities. “The 1994 National Marine Policy has neither been fully implemented nor updated.”

He also said the country’s three-way cooperation deal with Indonesia and Malaysia had not been fully operationalized. Maritime law enforcement agencies have inadequate workforce, infrastructure and assets, he added.

The government should focus on nontraditional security such as human security concerns and the development of the country’s blue economy, Mr. Amador said.

Mr. Batongbacal said passing the maritime zone bill would also help promote the sustainable use of ocean-based resources through green infrastructure and technology.

“Having an effective and efficient maritime governance necessitates the clear identification of the maritime areas over which the Philippines exercises sovereignty,” Mr. Lamug said.