DND, DFA: Establish sea lanes to protect PH territory

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 24) — The defense and foreign affairs departments are supporting the creation of archipelagic sea lanes, saying these will protect the Philippines' territory.

The Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones held a hearing on the bills seeking to establish such sea lanes.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said if the bill is passed into law, the Philippines will be able to file a strong case against violators of the law.

He added that if the sea lanes were used together with the 2016 arbitral award and the United Nations on the Law of the Sea, the Philippines would have a legal basis in fighting for its sovereign rights.

“We would have a stronger basis, let's say, for any incident, we'd have a specific law, for example, through the archipelagic sea lanes, to help us further make a case if there's any kind of infraction. This is, definitely, going against our sovereign rights because of the existence of this law,” Manalo said.

Meanwhile, Defense Undersecretary Ignacio Madriaga said the sea lanes are vital because their non-existence will be used against the country.

He noted that it may even be detrimental to the Philippines.

“Without the designation of archipelagic sea lanes, specifically for military aircraft and military foreign vessels, any foreign military vessels and aircraft can just pass through our internal waters or our archipelagic sea lanes, and they have the excuse," Madriaga said. "That's what the Chinese have said, "there is no designated archipelagic sea lanes for us to pass."

The total area of the country's archipelagic baseline system is 887,909 square kilometers, the National Security Council said.