the list of geographical coordinates of points as contained in Republic Act No. 9522: An Act to Amend Certain Provisions of Republic Act No. 3046, as Amended by Republic Act No. 5446, to Define the Archipelagic Baselines of the Philippines, and for Other Purposes mzn69Download phl_2008_act9522Download The archipelagic baseline system of the Philippines is composed of 101 line segments, ranging in length from 0.08 nm (segment 99-100) to 122.88 nm (segment 46-47), with a total length of 2,808 nm. The archipelagic baseline system includes all of the Philippines’ main islands and does not include Scarborough Reef or the Kalayaan Island Group.The archipelagic baseline system of the Philippines meets the water-to-land-area ratio set forth in Article 47.1:Total Area = 887,909 square kilometersWater Area = 589,739 square kilometersLand Area = 298,170 square kilometersWater-to-land area ratio = 1.98 to 1Consistent with Article 47.2 of the LOS Convention, three baseline segments (11-12, 46-47, and 82-83), which comprise 2.97 percent of the total number of segments, exceed 100 nm in length; none of the segments exceed 125 nm. Annex 2 to this study (R.A. 9522) lists the lengths of each segment. Our separate analysis of the baseline segments and the results confirm what is listed in R.A. 9522.The configuration of the baselines does not appear to depart to any appreciable extent from the general configuration of the archipelago (Article 47.3). None of the baselines appear to be drawn using low-tide elevations (Article 47.4). The baselines are not drawn in a way that would cut off from the high seas or EEZ the territorial sea of another State (Article 47.5). Therefore, the Philippines’ archipelagic baseline system set forth in R.A. 9522 appears to be consistent with Article 47 of the LOS Convention.Internal Waters and Archipelagic WatersArticle 1 of the Philippine Constitution provides that “[t]he waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.” Upon signing the LOS Convention in 1982 and again in ratifying the Convention in 1984, the Philippines stated: “The concept of archipelagic waters [under the LOS Convention] is similar to the concept of internal waters under the Constitution of the Philippines.” The United States and other countries have protested this understanding. In response, the Philippines stated in 1988 that it “intends to harmonize its domestic legislation with the provisions of the Convention” and that it “will abide by the provisions of the said Convention.” In 2009, through its R.A. 9522, the Philippines established new archipelagic baselines; however, this legislation did not clarify whether the waters within the baselines are archipelagic waters (rather than internal waters), as provided for in the LOS Convention. In July 2011, the Philippine Supreme Court considered the question of whether R.A. 9522 “unconstitutionally ‘converts’ internal waters into archipelagic waters, hence subjecting these waters to the right of innocent and sea lanes passage under [the LOS Convention].” In unanimously upholding the constitutionality of R.A. 9522, the Philippine Supreme Court stated that “[w]hether referred to as…

You must be Register or logged in to view full content, high resolution maps, charts, pdf and more.

>>>please login<<<