TERRITORIAL

ISSUE:
WEST PHILIPPINE
SEA
ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES AND
CONDITIONS
West Philippine Sea covers more than 3
million square kilometers (1.16 million
square miles) on the western edge of the
Pacific, with China and Taiwan to the north,
the Philippines to the east, Borneo island
to the south, and Vietnam to the west.

It contains hundreds of small islands,
islets and rocks, most of which are
uninhabited. The Paracel and Spratly chains
contain the biggest islands.

It is an extremely significant body of water in a
geopolitical sense. It is the second most used sea
lane in the world.

The region has proven oil reserves of around
1.2 km (7.7 billion barrels), with an estimate of
4.5 km (28 billion barrels) in total. Natural gas
reserves are estimated to total around 7,500 km (266
trillion cubic feet).


According to studies made by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines, this
body of water holds one third of the entire world's
marine biodiversity, thereby making it a very
important area for the ecosystem.
Several countries have made competing territorial
claims over the West Philippine Sea...
PUBLIC POLICIES
1987 Philippine Constitution, Article I
National Territory

Presidential Decree No. 1599 - Establishing an
exclusive economic zone

Republic Act No. 9522- An act to amend certain
provisions of RA # 3046, to define the
archipelagic baseline of the Philippines

Republic Act No. 3046 - the baselines of the
territorial sea of the Philippines
Presidential Decree No. 1596 - Declaring
certain area part of the Philippine territory
and providing for their government and
administration

Administrative Order No. 29 - Philippines
apply its sovereign rights under the principles
of international law comprises the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS)

1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS)
Territory
-it includes not only the fixed portion of land over
which the jurisdiction of the state extends
(territorial domain), but also the rivers lakes
therein, a certain area of the sea which abuts upon
its coasts (fluvial and maritime domain) and the air
space above the land and waters.

Under this condition, all the lands and waters
that comprise to the Philippines and valid title are
basically subjected to the jurisdiction of the state
(Philippine).


POLICY EVALUATION
Administrative Order No. 29

In response to the issue of West Philippine Sea and
to the sovereign right vested to the Philippines, AO
No. 29 of Benigno S. Aquino III is emphasizing that
Philippines has the sovereign rights over South
China Sea by naming South China Sea as West
Philippine Sea.
Features
The maritime areas on the western side of the
Philippine archipelago are hereby named as the West
Philippine Sea. These areas include the Luzon Sea as
well as the waters around, within and adjacent to the
Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo De Masinloc, also known
as Scarborough Shoal.

Philippines will produce and publish maps and charts
of the Philippines reflecting and introducing West
Philippine Sea as part of the jurisdiction of the
state.
- National Mapping and Resource Information Authority
(NAMRIA)

It command that all department, agencies, and the
likes will be using West Philippine Sea as a name for
it be popularize and be known by the public.
According to the AO 29, the Philippines exercises
sovereign rights under the principles of
international law, including the 1982 United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(Unclos), to explore and exploit, conserve and
manage the natural resources, whether living or
nonliving, both renewable and nonrenewable, of
the seabed, including the subsoil and the
adjacent waters, and to conduct other activities
for the economic exploitation and exploration of
its maritime domain, such as the production of
energy from the water, currents and winds.
RECOMMENDATION
(DECISIONS FOR THE FUTURE)