National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMIRA) Administrator Peter Tiangco said the government will soon release a new Philippine map that includes the West Philippine Sea (WPS) as part of its jurisdiction.
Tiangco said this in a chance interview after a Palace briefing on Friday, November 8, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, now designated as Republic Act (RA) No. 12064.
RA No. 12064 aims to establish the country’s maritime zones in alignment with the standards outlined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“[We] already have the maps prepared” and that they were just awaiting the issuance of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Philippine Maritime Zones Act “in order for us to modify or revise the maps that we have prepared accordingly until its final publication,” Tiangco said.
“The big difference here is that our map has legal basis supported by existing laws. Regarding what China did, I’m not sure about that. But rest assured that what we’ll be doing with ours will all be in accordance with existing laws,” Tiangco added, referring to line segments asserting China’s claims over parts of the South China Sea.
Tiangco also mentioned that the new Philippine map has a legal basis.
In a briefing earlier, the National Maritime Council explained that the new law designates the archipelagic baselines outlined in the 2009 Philippine Baselines Law as the foundation for measuring the country’s maritime zones.
The law also specifies the archipelagic waters, grants a full entitlement to a 12-nautical mile (NM) territorial sea, establishes a 24-NM contiguous zone from the baselines, and designates a 200-NM exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf, where the country can exercise its sovereign rights and jurisdiction. (TCSP)
