Philippines signs new laws on South China Sea

MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Friday signed two new laws aimed at boosting the country’s claim over the disputed South China Sea by defining maritime zones and sea lanes.

The new laws - the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act - “emphasise the importance of our maritime and archipelagic identity,” Marcos said, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

“With these pieces of legislation, we align our domestic laws with international law, specifically the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS, improve our capacity for governance, and reinforce our maritime policies for economic development and for national security,” he said.

The Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act designates specific sea and air routes for foreign vessels and aircraft within Philippine areas in the South China Sea, while the Maritime Zones Act includes territories also claimed by China in areas covered by Manila’s sovereignty and jurisdiction.

The laws were signed as about 3,000 troops from the Philippine navy, air force and army held training exercises, including island seizure and amphibious operations in the South China Sea, according to dpa.

China, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, has taken increasingly aggressive actions in the area in recent years.

Beijing ignored a 2016 ruling by an international arbitration court that it has no legal or historical basis for its expansive claims.

Meanwhile, Anadolu Agency reported China’s Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Friday summoned the Filipino ambassador to lodge “solemn representations” against the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act.

It reported Beijing said the laws “illegally include China’s Huangyan Dao, most of Nansha Islands and related waters into the maritime zone of the Philippines”.

It seeks to “solidify the illegal award of the South China Sea Arbitration in the form of domestic legislation. (The) move seriously infringes on China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea, which China strongly condemns and resolutely opposes,“ said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.