President Ferdinand Marcos Jr signing into law the Philippine Maritime Zones Bill and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Bill in a ceremony in Malacanang in Manila on Nov 8, 2024. - PDI
MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr enacted on Friday (Nov 8) two laws bolstering his nation’s maritime claims and pushed to tap energy resources, as tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea persist.
He signed the Maritime Zones Act, which seeks to make the Philippines’ maritime rights well-defined by creating routes over its waters and airspace.
He also enacted the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, which establishes a system through which foreign vessels and aircraft shall exercise the right of passage.
Marcos hailed the laws as a demonstration of the Philippines’ commitment to uphold an international rules-based order, and protect its rights to exploit resources peacefully in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“Our people, especially our fisher folk, should be able to pursue their livelihood free from uncertainty and harassment,” he said.
“We must be able to harness mineral and energy resources in our seabed.”
While the two laws were envisioned to help the Philippines to monitor and defend against potential encroachment, questions remain about how they will be enforced and if they will impact Chinese activity in the Philippine EEZ.
China asserts its claim of sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea through an armada of coast guard ships, some of which are accused by its neighbours of aggressive conduct and trying to disrupt energy and fisheries activity in their EEZs.
Senator Francis Tolentino, one of the authors of the maritime zones measure, said he does not expect tensions in the Philippine EEZ will be instantly reduced with the implementation of the new laws.
“China will not recognise these, but the imprimatur that we’ll be getting from the international community would strengthen our position,” he told a press conference.
Tolentino also said the laws would reinforce a 2016 arbitration ruling on the South China Sea, which declared China’s expansive claims had no basis under international law. - Agencies
