The 1982 United Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), considered as the
constitution for the oceans, promotes and highlights the importance of having rulesbased order in maritime governance and allocates maritime zones to coastal and
archipelagic states.
The Philippines signed UNCLOS in 1982 and ratified it 1984. This however, does not
automatically transform UNCLOS as domestic law; the Congress has an obligation to
harmonize local legislation with international law. As a law-abiding member of the
international community, the Philippines has the task to define the maritime zones and
align them with measurements outlined by the Convention. The Philippine government
already made important steps on this by: (1) Adopting the regime of islands under
Article 121 of that convention for the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo De Masinloc;
and (2) enacting the Archipelagic Baselines of the Philippines Act through Republic Act
9522,14 years ago. Hence, the next logical step for us is to clearly define our maritime
zones.
More infomation: Declaring the maririme zones under the jurisdiction of the republic of the Philippines
