House bill seeks to establish archipelagic sea lanes

Amid the Philippines’ ongoing territorial dispute with China, the House of Representatives is expected to approve next month a measure providing for the establishment of archipelagic sea lanes.

House Bill 5487 will give the Philippines a wider latitude in identifying archipelagic sea lanes and prescribing the rights and obligations of foreign ships and aircraft passing through the country’s archipelagic waters.

Archipelagic sea lane refers to the designated sea lanes and air routes in the archipelagic waters through which foreign vessels or aircrafts may exercise the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage.

Meanwhile, archipelagic waters refers to the waters on the landward side of the archipelagic baselines except as defined as Internal Waters.

The measure was passed on second reading on March 18, before Congress went on break. It will be approved after sessions resume on May 4.

Rights and obligations

Among the salient provisions of the bill is the emphasis on the consistency of the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage (ASLP) by all foreign ships with the constitutional mandate of freedom from nuclear weapons in Philippine territory.

Archipelagic sea lane passage refers to the exercise in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of the rights of navigation and overflight in the normal mode solely for the purpose of continuous, expeditious and unobstructed transit between one part of the high sea or an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and another part of the high sea or an EEZ.

HB 5487 provides for a comprehensive array of provisions stating the rights and obligations of foreign ships and aircrafts when exercising the right of ASLP.

Under the proposed legislation, the President shall promulgate through Executive Issuances the archipelagic sea lanes which may be used for the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage and the rules and regulations relating to Associated Protective Measures to be prescribed, within areas along the archipelagic sea lanes in accordance with the International Maritimes Organization (IMO) Conventions and Regulations and other relevant international agreements.

The National Coast Watch System (NCWS), created by virtue of Executive Order 57, series of 2011, under the control and supervision of the Office of the President, shall serve as the coordinating mechanism for the implementation of this Act and shall continue to operate in accordance with its present organizational structure, the bill states.

No fishing, war games

Section 5 of the measure provides that foreign ships and aircraft exercising the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage shall 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.

These foreign vessels, including military aircraft and warships, shall refrain from conducting any war game exercises while conducting the right of ASLP.

They are likewise barred from making covert transmissions, interfering with telecommunications systems and communicating directly with an unauthorized person or group of persons in Philippines territory. Fishing operations or exploitation of Philippine marine resources is also prohibited.

Furthermore, the bill states that all foreign ships exercising the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage shall refrain from stopping, dropping anchor or loitering, except when rendered necessary by force majeure or by distress in order to render assistance to a person or persons or a ship or ships experiencing distress.

The Philippines has been locked in a territorial dispute with China involving portions of the West Philippine Sea.

In a privilege speech last month, Magdalo party-list Rep. Ashley Acedillo sounded the alarm on China’s swift and silent reclamation activities in the disputed swath of waters, which he said present an “existential threat” to the country’s territory, sovereignty and economic well-being.

Photos Acedillo obtained showed China’s reclamation and construction activities in territories within the West Philippine Sea have been continuous, with various reefs and islets being expanded humongous structures built on them. —NB, GMA News