The Senate has created a special committee that will exclusively tackle proposed measures relating to maritime zones and sea lanes, which will convene for the first time this Thursday, Senator Francis Tolentino said.
“Come Sept. 14, the newly created Special Senate Maritime and Admiralty Zones committee will be convening for the first time, and we will tackle the Maritime Zone bill for the first time,” Tolentino said Tuesday during a joint panel inquiry into West Philippine Sea issues
“Thereafter, we will be tackling the Archipelagic Sea Lanes bill and after that, we hope to finish Senate Bill 654 and that is the Philippine Navy Archipelagic Defense Act.”
Amid continuing tensions in the WPS, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a bill that would clearly define the country’s maritime zones and would also harmonize domestic laws on maritime territory with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“The proposed measure seeks not only to update existing Philippine maritime laws but more importantly delineates and emphasizes our maritime zones and boundaries,” said Gatchalian in filing Senate Bill 2394 or The Philippine Maritime Zones Act.
He emphasized that by declaring the Philippines’ maritime zone boundaries, the country will fortify the geographical extent of its maritime domain.
The law would provide guidance for Filipinos as well as the country’s armed forces and civilian law enforcers on the rights and entitlements of the country’s different maritime zones and enable the country’s maritime institutions to advance national interests.
The special panel, which will be chaired by Tolentino, was proposed last July to tackle key maritime issues and legislation.
It was created amid heightened tensions between Manila and Beijing due to the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea.
In August, the Senate condemned China’s incursions and its harassment of Filipino civilian and government vessels in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Some recent actions by Beijing include its coast guard’s use of water cannon on Filipino vessels, its failed attempt to block another resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre, and its newly issued 10-dash line map, which extended the superpower’s claim to cover most of the South China Sea.