Module 6 Assignment

Module 6 Philippines as a Coastal State over its internal waters
and territorial sea. The US must bear its "international

Discussion
responsibility".
In history, bodies of water have made a great
Historically, warships enjoy sovereign
contribution to society as they paved the way for the
immunity from suit as extensions of their flag State,
emergence of civilization. They served as a means to
Art. 31 of the UNCLOS creates an exception to this
sustain human life due to the natural resources that
rule in cases where they fail to comply with the rules
can be found therein. Due to these vast natural
and regulations of the coastal State regarding
resources, nations tangle with issues concerning
passage through the latter's internal waters and the
maritime territories, prompting the creation of several
territorial sea.
international laws, concerning the maritime domain.
Before the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea was Under International Law, disputes may be
established, the United Nations held three submitted to the International Tribunal of the Law of
Conferences on the Law of the Sea, namely: UNCLOS the Sea (ITLOS), to an Ad hoc Chamber of the Seabed
I, II and III. Disputes Chamber or to a binding arbitration, such as
in the case of Philippines vs. China, wherein the
UNCLOS III was the culmination of decades-
Philippines decided to take the matter to arbitration.
long negotiations among United Nations members to
But China refuses to participate in the proceedings
codify norms regulating the conduct of States in the
nor acknowledge the tribunal ruling.
world’s oceans and submarine areas.
In this case, China asserts that it has
Baselines laws such as RA 9522, were enacted
“indisputable sovereignty” and “historic rights” to
by UNCLOS III State-parties to mark-out specific
the disputed territories using its “nine-dash line” claim
basepoints along their coasts from which baselines
that overlaps with the UNCLOS-mandated 200-
are drawn, either straight or contoured, to serve as
nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
geographic starting points to measure the breadth of
the maritime zones and continental shelf. From the decision of the Tribunal, whatever
historic rights China may have had were extinguished
These baselines laws, therefore, are not
when UNCLOS was adopted, to the extent those
modes of acquiring or losing territories, but statutory
rights were incompatible with UNCLOS. The Tribunal
mechanisms for UNCLOS III State-parties to delimit
also found China in breach of Article 58 (3)[27] of the
with precision the extent of their maritime zones and
Convention, due to its failure to prevent fishing by
continental shelves. In turn, this gives notice to the
Chinese flagged ships in the exclusive economic zone
rest of the international community of the scope of
of the Philippines, failing to respect the sovereign
the maritime space and submarine areas within which
rights of the Philippines over its fisheries in its
States parties exercise sovereignty or jurisdiction.
exclusive economic zone.
(Magallona vs. Executive Secretary)
Conclusion
Finally, in 1982, the UNCLOS was established.
Many of the provisions of the UNCLOS are a repetition UNCLOS Tribunals are created to resolve
of earlier convention law or a codification of disputes concerning maritime domains. However, the
customary law, which therefore suggests that the sad truth is that these tribunals have no power to
same will be binding on all states, including those who enforce its nominally binding decisions for the reason
are not parties to the convention, such as the US in that disputes over territorial sovereignty are beyond
the case of Arigo vs. Swift. The subject matter in this their jurisdiction.
case came within the ambit of the UNCLOS when the
States should cooperate on a global basis and,
US warship entered a restricted area in violation of
as appropriate, on a regional basis, directly or through
R.A. No. 10067 and caused damage to the TRNP reef
competent international organizations, in formulating
system.
and elaborating international rules, standards and
Non-membership in the UNCLOS does not recommended practices and procedures for the
mean that the US will disregard the rights of the protection and preservation of the marine
environment and to preserve foreign relations with
each other.

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Module 6 Philippines as a Coastal State over its internal waters

and territorial sea. The US must bear its "international

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