Exclusive economic zone of the Philippines
{{Short description|Maritime economic zone}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{maplink|frame=yes|type=shape|text=Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines}}
File:NAMRIA map of Philippine maritime zones.png (NAMRIA), with the green line showing the maximum extent of the EEZ (ignoring landmass of neighboring countries) and the theoretical EEZ based on median line in purple.]]
The Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, or Philippine EEZ for short, is the maritime area clamed by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and Philippine laws and orders (primarily Republic Act No. 9522 of 2009).https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/openasfa/a9b133df-8b25-409e-9066-906893bc39e7 Figure 1. The UNCLOS mandated exclusive economic wone (EEZ) of the Philippines, showing the four ‘subzones’ (A-D)
It covers {{convert|2263816|km2|sqmi|sp=us}} of sea. The Philippines has 7,641 islands comprising the Philippine archipelago.{{cite web|url=http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/555068/news/nation/namria-discovers-400-to-500-new-islands-in-phl-archipelago|title=Namria discovers 400 to 500 new islands in PHL archipelago|date=February 12, 2016 |publisher=}} The zone's coordinates are between 116° 40', and 126° 34' E longitude and 4° 40' and 21° 10' N latitude. It is bordered by the Philippine Sea[https://web.archive.org/web/20090820123304/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761580288/Philippine_Sea.html Philippine Sea], [http://encarta.msn.com/ encarta.msn.com] {{webarchive|url=https://www.webcitation.org/5kvWPcsSb?url=http://encarta.msn.com/ |date=October 31, 2009 }} (archived from [http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761580288/Philippine_Sea.html the original] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090820123304/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761580288/Philippine_Sea.html |date=August 20, 2009 }} on August 20, 2009). to the east and north, the South China Sea[https://web.archive.org/web/20130213111846/http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?ID=201302090013&Type=aIPL "U.S. report details rich resources in South China Sea."] (archived from [http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aIPL&ID=201302090013 the original] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203082913/http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aIPL&ID=201302090013 |date=December 3, 2021 }} on 2013-02-133) to the west, and the Celebes SeaC.Michael Hogan. 2011. [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Celebes_Sea?topic=49523 "Celebes Sea"]. Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. P. Saundry & C.J. Cleveland. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington, DC to the south.
West Philippine Sea
{{main article|West Philippine Sea}}
On September 12, 2012, President Benigno Aquino III issued Administrative Order No. 29, designating the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago and within the Philippine EEZ as the West Philippine Sea and mandating the use of that designation by all departments, subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities of the Philippine government.{{cite web|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2012/09/05/administrative-order-no-29-s-2012/|title=Administrative Order No. 29 : Naming the West Philippine Sea of the Republic of the Philippines, and for Other Purposes|date=September 5, 2012|work=Official Gazette|publisher=Government of the Philippines}} The term West Philippine Sea has sometimes been incorrectly used to refer to the whole of the South China Sea.{{cite news |last1=Agcaoili |first1=John Gabriel |title=Panelo confuses West Philippine Sea with whole South China Sea |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/25/21/panelo-confuses-west-philippine-sea-with-whole-south-china-sea |access-date=4 July 2021 |work=ABS-CBN News |date=25 May 2021 |language=en |quote="If you say the West Philippine Sea, the basis should be really Administrative Order [No.] 29, which clearly refers to only part of the South China Sea, which is under Philippine jurisdiction. It has never been synonymous with the South China Sea," Batongbacal said.}}
Disputes
{{see also|Territorial disputes in the South China Sea|Guang Da Xing No. 28 incident}}
File:South China Sea claims map.jpg
The Philippines has territorial disputes in the South China Sea, mainly with the People's Republic of China. Nearly the whole South China Sea is claimed by China with its nine-dash line. This contested line cuts half of the Philippines' EEZ. In 2011, President Benigno Aquino III stated that "China's nine-dash line territorial claim over the entire South China Sea is against international laws, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)".{{cite web| title = Aquino mulls UN protest on Spratlys| first = Regina| last = Bengco| url = http://maritimesecurity.asia/south-china-sea-2/aquino-mulls-un-protest-on-spratlys/| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130114203524/http://maritimesecurity.asia/south-china-sea-2/aquino-mulls-un-protest-on-spratlys/| url-status = dead| archive-date = January 14, 2013| publisher = Maritime Security Asia| date = June 2, 2011}} In 2013, China began building artificial islands and military bases on reefs in the Spratly Islands and on Scarborough Shoal, which it seized in 2012. {{as of|2019}}, China controls 20 outposts in the Paracel Islands and 7 in the Spratlys.{{Cite web|url=https://amti.csis.org/island-tracker/china/|title=China Island Tracker|website=Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative|access-date=May 30, 2019}}
In July 2016, the Arbitral Tribunal set up under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in the Hague ruled against China's nine-dash line demarcation. As the [https://www.cfr.org/councilofcouncils/global-memos/hague-tribunals-south-china-sea-ruling-empty-provocation-or-slow-burning-influence Council on Foreign Relations] wrote at the time, "The panel found that China’s claims of historic rights within the nine-dash line, which Beijing uses to demarcate its claims in the South China Sea, were without legal foundation. The panel also concluded that Beijing’s activities within the Philippines’ two-hundred-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), such as illegal fishing and environmentally ruinous artificial island construction, infringed on Manila's sovereign rights."
On June 12, 2019, a Chinese vessel collided with and sank an anchored Philippine fishing boat (F/B Gem-Ver 1) near Recto Bank in the South China Sea. The Chinese vessel did not save the 22 Filipino fishermen on-board according to the Philippine Department of National Defense. A couple of minutes later, they were rescued by a Vietnamese fishing boat. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said the collision was "far from accidental."{{cite web|date=June 12, 2019 |url=https://www.rappler.com/nation/232913-afp-says-chinese-vessel-sinking-philippine-boat-far-accidental |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614000856/https://www.rappler.com/nation/232913-afp-says-chinese-vessel-sinking-philippine-boat-far-accidental |archivedate=June 14, 2019 |title=AFP: Chinese vessel's sinking of PH boat 'far from accidental' |accessdate=August 3, 2019}}
On April 15, 2021, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) reported that approximately 240,000 kilos (260 tons) of fish have been illegally taken by Chinese fishing vessels in the South China Sea every day. The Chinese fishing vessels illegally operate around the Union Banks and Thitu Island (Pag-asa Islands). The overfishing causes the depletion of marine resources. During the same month, an estimated 240 Chinese vessels were patrolling throughout the South China Sea.{{cite web |title='Worse than invasion': China ships poach 240,000 kg of fish daily in PH seas, says group |website=Inquirer.net |date=April 15, 2021 |url=https://globalnation.inquirer.net/195237/worse-than-invasion-china-ships-poach-240000-kg-of-fish-daily-in-ph-seas-says-group}}
In November 2021, two Filipino military supply boats were blocked by three Chinese coast guard ships which also fired water cannons. The supply vessels were headed to Second Thomas Shoal within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. The atoll has been occupied by a Philippine military contingent since 1999. The incident was strongly condemned by Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin and former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.{{ cite web |website=ABC |date=November 18, 2021 |title=Philippines tells China to 'back off' after water cannons fired in South China Sea |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-18/philippines-china-to-back-off-south-china-sea-water-cannons/100632612 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119133514/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-18/philippines-china-to-back-off-south-china-sea-water-cannons/100632612 |archive-date=November 19, 2021}}{{Cite web|date=2021-11-22|title=Duterte to China: Philippines 'abhors' sea standoff|url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/22/21/duterte-to-china-philippines-abhors-sea-standoff|access-date=2021-11-23|website=ABS-CBN News|language=en}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.namria.gov.ph/jdownloads/Info_Mapper/21_im_2014.pdf "NAMRIA draws PH-Indonesia EEZ Boundary Map", Infomapper 2014, pages 4–5]
{{World topic|title=Exclusive economic zones|Exclusive economic zone of|noredlinks=yes}}
Category:Borders of the Philippines