AN international maritime law expert urged the government to ratify the outer space treaties it signed 55 years ago as incidents of space debris falling in Philippine territory increased.
Lawyer Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, made the appeal as residents of Occidental Mindoro and Palawan reported the discovery of space debris in their towns.
Batongbacal said in an email to the Inquirer that the debris appeared to be part of the Long March 5B rocket that carried the final part of China’s new Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) Space Station.
He said the Philippines is well within the potential debris field of any rocket launched from Wenchang and China’s Civil Aviation Administration earlier issued an advisory to warn about rocket debris falling back to Earth.
The Philippine Space Agency also noted that Chinese authorities identified areas in Scarborough Shoal and Busuanga, Palawan, as the two drop zones of the rocket debris.
“This is another reason why the Philippines should ratify the space treaties that deal with the liability of launching states and procedure for compensation for damage or injury,” Batongbacal said. — Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
