Primer on Philippine maritime areas

I am pleased   to send  herewith a  copy  of  the  “Primer”  I prepared   on  “The  Ocean  Space   or  The  Maritime   Area  of  the Philippines  (Including  the Seabed  and Subsoil  and  their  Air Space under the Law of the Sea Convention  [particularly Part IV], the Philippine  Constitution  and Relevant Laws)”.

The Primer is intended to inform of the maritime areas over which the Philippines  has  sovereignty,  sovereign  rights  or jurisdiction, principally its territorial sea, the contiguous zone, its exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf.  For convenient reference, the pertinent provisions of the Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC),  the   Philippine Constitutions   and   relevant   statutes   are quoted.

Far too frequently opinions and views are expressed,  not in accord even with explicit provisions  of the LOSC.  A recent example are views on the Benham Rise, a part of the extended continental shelf of the Philippines.

It was my privilege  to  have  been  a  vice chairman of  the Philippine delegation  to the Law of the Sea Conference,  initially in the  Seabed  Committee, which  convened in 1968,  and  in the  United Nations  Conference  on  the Law  of  the  Sea,  which   convened  in December 1973.   The Law of the Sea Convention was adopted by the United Nations in 1982, and it entered into force in 1994.

Some observations are made on the Arbitral Award  on  the Philippine Claim  of  July 12, 2016, particularly  in  relation   to  the tensions  in  the  South  China  Sea  and  how  the  administration of President  Duterte  is addressing  its enforcement  and overall relationship with China.

It is my hope that the Primer will contribute to a more enlightened and   productive exchange of   views   in   regard the problems  facing   the  Philippines  in  protecting  and  enhancing  its rights over the maritime areas over which it has sovereignty or jurisdiction.

Estelito P. Mendoza

source:  Business Mirror

Get It Real: The Arroyo/Mendoza gospel and Carpio’s book

One is not sure why lawyer (for Marcos and cronies), former solicitor general and former Pampanga governor Estelito Mendoza has jumped into the conversation on the Philippines’ maritime issues with China, especially since he was quoted as saying that there are currently “too many conversations” on the issues. But he has jumped in with a big splash, launching a “primer” (his description) titled “The Ocean Space or the Maritime Area of the Philippines” in a press conference held at the House of Representatives.

How did he manage that location given that he is not a member of the House? Well, because his costar was none other than former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, who was in turn supported by her erstwhile executive secretary, Eduardo Ermita.

That press conference, from the quotes in the media reports, essentially blamed Arroyo’s successor, P-Noy Aquino, for China’s buildup of infrastructures (island-building) in these here parts. How? According to Mendoza, China itself said so. It categorically stated that the Philippines’ case against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration (in The Hague) had provoked its island-building. Mendoza said there was “relative quiet and peace” during the Arroyo administration. In apparent support of Mendoza, Arroyo chimed in three times that China’s artificial islands were all built during P-Noy’s term.

Get the logic?  If the Philippines hadn’t brought up the case in the first place, China would not have done what it did (spending all that money to build all those structures, reclaiming the land, and destroying the environment). Thus, it was all P-Noy’s fault. We shouldn’t have challenged China at all.

Gott im Himmel. The gospel according to Arroyo/Mendoza. China’s actions have all been in reaction to the Philippines’ actions. It had no global strategy at all. So if we had just kept quiet, there would be peace now, and President Duterte would not be facing this “most difficult problem.”

This scenario is not only logically flawed (e.g. post hoc: The buildup started after P-Noy, so he must have caused it), there are factual errors, too.  The Trump-Duterte syndrome is spreading very fast.

Thank heaven we have Justice Antonio T. Carpio’s new e-book, “The South China Sea Dispute: Philippine Sovereign Rights and Jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea.” It is going to be launched soon, and it can be freely downloaded. And it tells you everything about the matter, in a very simple, understandable manner, so there is no excuse for not reading it, and getting the facts straight. The best of research.

Let’s see what Carpio’s book can tell us about the Arroyo/Mendoza gospel:

Well, it turns out that China first brought to the world’s attention its nine-dash line (which it adopted in 1948) in 2009—in protest against Malaysia and Vietnam’s extended continental shelf (ECS) claims. Notice: 2009 was during Arroyo’s watch.

What are the ramifications of China’s nine-dash line? Asean countries would lose anywhere from 30 percent to 80 percent of their exclusive economic zones (EEZs). The Philippines, in particular, would lose 80 percent of its EEZ comprising about 381,000 square kilometers of maritime space including the entire Reed Bank and part of the Malampaya gas field, and 100 percent of its ECS.

Malaysia and Vietnam lost no time in protesting this. Arroyo didn’t do anything about it while she was president. The note verbale was sent only during P-Noy’s time (2011). No wonder there was relative peace and quiet with Arroyo.

The problem, Reader, is that “silence or inaction can be interpreted as a state’s acceptance of a factual or legal situation.”

By the way, it was in the Philippines’ case against China that the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China’s nine-dash line was baloney (although not in such graphic terms). Asean, I think, has yet to thank us.

Carpio’s book also discusses China’s objective: economic and military control of the South China Sea, not a fit of pique versus the Philippines.

Is it a case of nothing-can-be-done? No. Carpio suggests, among other things, lawfare (with specific examples), and missiles. Read his book.

By: Solita Collas-Monsod - @inquirerdotnet

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 12:28 AM April 22, 2017