THE PHILIPPINES has started preparations for the United Nations (UN) Oceans Conference next year in Nice, France where it aims to tackle issues on maritime biodiversity preservation, national security issues, and enforcing the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, according to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
“The Philippines, as an archipelagic state, understands the importance of a healthy ocean for its environment, economy, and national security,” the agency said in a statement.
It said its Maritime Ocean Affairs Office held a workshop with academics and government officials in charge of maritime preservation and international law to lay out Manila’s priorities for the conference.
Manila is also set to take the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2026, where it seeks to raise its dispute with China in the South China Sea.
Tensions between the Philippines and China have worsened in the past year as Beijing continues to block resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal, where Manila has a handful of troops stationed at a beached vessel.
Beijing insists it has sovereignty over most of the South China Sea based on its old maps and has deployed hundreds of coast guard vessels deep into Southeast Asia to assert its claims, disrupting offshore energy and fishing activities of its neighbors including Malaysia and Vietnam.
In 2016, a United Nations-backed tribunal in the Hague voided China’s expansive claims for being illegal. Beijing has rejected the ruling.
“These discussions were facilitated by experts and aimed to identify concrete actions, especially the voluntary commitments that the Philippines could make to address the most compelling ocean priorities,” the DFA said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
