Philippines elected to UN continental shelf body, Locsin thanks China for vote

The Philippines is now part of the United Nations body that facilitates the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

According to the Philippine Mission to the UN, the country was elected on June 15 to a seat in the Asia-Pacific group of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf during the 32nd meeting of the state-parties to the UNCLOS.

The mission said Manila had competed with eight other states under the APG and reached the required majority votes of 113 out of the total 164 states after four rounds of voting.

“This is the first time that the Philippines, an archipelagic state, will serve in the Commission,” the New York-based Philippine mission said.

“The Philippines’ election promotes the principle of rotation, inclusion, and representation among the UNCLOS States,” it added.

Apart from enforcing the international treaty, the CLCS is also tasked to make recommendations to coastal states on matters related to the establishment of those limits.

Its recommendations and actions will not prejudice matters relating to the delimitation of boundaries between States with opposite or adjacent coasts.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. thanked China for supporting the Philippines.

“Thank you, China, for your vote. We have differences, sure; we tried but failed to bridge them but the endeavor was sincere; we are patriots to each of our respective causes, but we have a deep respect and genuine affection for each other,” Locsin said on Twitter.

It can be recalled Manila had lodged over 300 diplomatic protests against Beijing over its continuous maritime activities within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

This is despite the 2016 arbitral ruling the Hague-based court awarded to the Philippines.

National Mapping and Resource Information Authority Deputy Administrator Efren P. Carandang will represent the Philippines in the CLCS. He would serve from 2023 to 2028. —NB, GMA News