ONE of two new laws that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos signed recently to reaffirm Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights over our archipelagic waters strictly prohibits foreign ships and aircraft passing through our designated sea lanes and air routes from polluting and fishing or exploring for marine resources in our seas, Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte, National Unity Party (NUP) president, has said.

Under Republic Act (RA) No. 12065, foreign civilian ships and aircraft that violate this ban are now punishable under the penalty provisions of existing Philippine laws on fisheries, customs, immigration, sanitation and/or on the environment that have been violated, said Villafuerte, the three-term congressman of CamSur and a co-author of this law.

If the non-compliance by a foreign ship or aircraft does not violate any of our laws, then the breach of this new law shall be punishable by imprisonment of one year and one day to two years and two months, and/or a fine of $1.2 million or its Philippine peso equivalent, at the discretion of the court, Villafuerte said.

“Such penalties shall be imposed on the master of the ship or captain of the aircraft; and if the owner of the vessel or aircraft is a corporation, partnership or juridical person, then the penalty shall be imposed upon the president or head of this business entity in breach of this new law,” said Villafuerte of RA 12065, or the “Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act (PASLA).”

President Marcos had signed RA 12065 and RA 12064, or the “Philippine Maritime Zones Act (PMZA), as companion laws reaffirming our sovereignty over our internal and archipelagic waters along with our sovereign rights over our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters, as defined by the UNCLOS, and designating the sea lanes and air routes where foreign vessels and aircraft can legally pass through under the UNCLOS-set “right of innocent passage.”

The UNCLOS is the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that was ratified by 170 parties, including the Philippines.

The President said his signing of RA 12064 and RA 12065 underscored his Administration’s resolve to protect the country’s maritime resources, preserve its rich biodiversity, and ensure that Philippine waters remain a source of life and livelihood for all Filipinos.

For Villafuerte, the twin laws define our country’s maritime zones and territorial seas, including our EEZ, in accordance with the UNCLOS, and to strengthen our legitimate claim over such waters, most especially the West Philippine Sea (WPS), where the Chinese’ People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels and China Maritime Militia (CMM) and fishing fleets have been conducting increasingly dangerous incursions and harassment of our Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) boats and Filipino fisherfolk.

Villafuerte pointed out that under RA 12065, foreign ships and aircraft exercising archipelagic passage over Philippine territory and maritime zones are prohibited from:

· Discharging oil, oily wastes, solid waste, other noxious substances or ballast water;

· Discharging sewage, garbage and air emissions from ships in violation of existing conventions on the prevention of marine pollution; and

· Conducting any fishing operation, marine bioprospecting or exploitation of marine resources of the Philippines.

“Bioprospecting” refers to any organized search for and harvesting of useful marine plants, animals and microbial species for academic, agricultural, pharmaceutical or industrial purposes.

“Archipelagic sea lanes” make up the designated sea lanes in our archipelagic waters and air routes above through which foreign vessels or aircraft are allowed to exercise the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage, for the purpose of “continuous, expeditious, and unobstructed transit between one part of the high seas or an EEZ and another part of the high seas or an EEZ.”

Under RA 12065, such passage is allowed over our territorial waters, provided that such transit or crossing is “not prejudicial to the peace, good order, and security of the Philippines.”

These archipelagic sea lanes and air routes are being designated in the Philippines under RA 12065, in accordance with the UNCLOS, Convention on International Civil Aviation or the “Chicago Convention” on airspace sovereignty, and the general guidelines and procedures of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Villafuerte said that, “Under the UNCLOS, an archipelago like the Philippines has sovereignty over its archipelagic waters and the airspace above it, as well as its seabed and subsoil. The archipelagic State may designate sea lanes and air routes suitable for the continuous and expeditious passage of ships and aircraft through or over its archipelagic waters and the adjacent territorial sea, under their right of innocent passage.”

He said that while RA 9522 of 2009 effectively delineated the baselines of Philippine territorial waters, “this law failed to provide and establish the archipelagic sea lanes of the Philippines as espoused in Article 53 of the UNCLOS.”

Villafuerte had authored House Bill (HB) No. 8018 setting the conditions and requirements for foreign ships and aircraft exercising their right to archipelagic sea lanes passage, prohibiting fishing in our waters, and barring foreign ships from expelling oil or other toxic substances into the Philippine marine environment.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. has blasted Beijing’s increasing pressure on the Philippines to concede its sovereign rights in the WPS, despite the 2016 arbitral ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) that invalidated China’s extensive, supposedly historical territorial claims under its nine-dash—and later expanded to 10-dash—line covering most of the SCS.

The PCG reported a record number of 251 PLAN and CMM vessels spotted swarming various parts of the WPS in September, while the Philippine Navy (PN) said it spotted 29 Chinese vessels “passing through” the WPS in October.

Villafuerte said, “The enactment of RA 12064 and RA 12065 bestows upon the Marcos administration a stronger legal framework to protect our country against such nonstop unauthorized presence in Philippine waters.”

He pointed out that RA 12065 requires foreign ships and aircraft to adhere to the following conditions when exercising their right to archipelagic sea lanes passage:

· Pass through or above the archipelagic sea lane as quickly as possible without delay and in the normal mode solely for the purpose of continuous, expeditious and unobstructed transit;

· Not deviate more than 25 nautical miles on either side of the axis lines during their passage, provided that such ships and aircraft shall not navigate closer to the coast than 10% of the distance between the nearest points on islands bordering the sea lane;

· Refrain from any activity other than those incidental to their continuous transit;

· Refrain from making any threat or use of force against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of the Philippines, or in any other manner in violation of the principles of international law as embodied in the UN Charter;

· Refrain from any war game or military exercise using any type of weapons or ordnance, intelligence gathering, surveillance or reconnaissance assets or equipment;

· Refrain from making covert transmissions, interfering with telecommunications systems, and communicating directly with unauthorized persons or groups of persons in Philippine territory;

· Keep their automatic identification systems (AIS), transporders or other means of identification and communication turned on throughout their passage, and to duly respond to communications from the PCG, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) or other Philippine government agencies; and

· Not land in Philippine territory except when rendered necessary by force majeure or distress, or to render assistance to persons, ships or aircraft in danger or distress.

Villafuerte was among the first backers in the Congress of the government’s joint maritime patrols with the United States and other allies like Japan and Australia in the WPS and the SCS, following what Manila has repeatedly condemned as Beijing’s “aggressive actions” in that disputed portion of our territory.

He said such joint sales could check the non-stop intrusions and bellicose maneuvers of Chinese vessels, in violation of the UNCLOs and the 2016 international ruling by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) that such part of the SCS is Philippine territory.

“With its waters linked to important and busy navigational routes, it was correct for our government to designate its archipelagic sea lanes in consideration of its own security, economic and environmental interests,” Villafuerte said.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Ryan Ponce Pacpaco