Senate President Juan Miguel 鈥淢igz鈥� F. Zubiri. Senate PRIB file photo / Voltaire Domingo
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� In light of China鈥檚 continued incursions in the West Philippine Sea and its recent release of a standard map featuring a 10-dash line, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri disclosed that the upper chamber will ensure the passage of the Maritime Zones Act before 2023 ends.
鈥淭hat is a priority of the Senate. We commit to you [that] by [the] end of the year, before December, we will deliberate it during the budget deliberations [and] we will pass the Maritime Zones Act,鈥� said Zubiri in a mix of English and Filipino in a press conference held Thursday.
Senator Francis Tolentino, in his measure 鈥� Senate Bill No. 2294 鈥� stated that the Maritime Zones bill鈥檚 primary objective is to declare the Philippines鈥� maritime zones based on the standards set by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The bill also seeks to clarify the geographical extent of the Philippine maritime domain and, at the same time, clarify the legal powers that the Philippines may exercise.
This all comes amid China鈥檚 territorial claims over nearly the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, which is well within the Philippines鈥� exclusive economic zone.
China鈥檚 newly released standard map now asserts, through a 10-dash line,聽 that its territory extends through Taiwan and India鈥檚 northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin region.
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