Philippines' two maritime laws violate regional peace: experts

Two new laws in the Philippines, covering the so-called "maritime zones" and "archipelagic sea lanes," will cause multiple harms to regional partners while undermining regional peace, experts said.

The Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes (ASL) Act and companion measure, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, were approved by Philippines Congress in September and signed into law by Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr on Friday.

The move has drawn strong condemnation and criticism from China. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress on Friday expressed firm opposition of the so-called Maritime Zones Act, saying that the act is an attempt by the Philippines to enforce the illegal arbitral award on the South China Sea issue in 2016 through its domestic legislation.

The Maritime Zones Act illegally includes most of China's Huangyan Island and Nansha Islands and related maritime areas in the Philippines' maritime zones. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on the same day issued a statement, saying it "seriously infringes on China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.”

Noting the opposition and condemnation from Chinese Foreign Ministry, Rong Ying, a researcher at China Institute of International Studies, told CGTN that what the Philippines has done should also be condemned and opposed by regional countries and the international community.

Noting the Asia-Pacific region at present is relatively stable but also harbors instability and insecurity, Rong said the Philippines' two maritime laws not only seriously violate China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, but also undermine the legitimate rights of other parties under international laws including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and run counter to the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

Ding Duo, deputy director and associate research fellow at the Research Center for Ocean Law and Policy, the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told CGTN that the Philippine ASL Act, which stipulates that "foreign ships and aircraft that violate the UNCLOS and infringe upon the sovereignty and rights of the Philippines shall not exercise the right of passage of sea lanes of the Philippines," is a clear departure from the provisions of the UNCLOS by linking the right of passage of sea lanes with the South China Sea disputes and restricting the right of proper passage of foreign ships and aircraft.

Ding also noted the sea lanes and air lanes designated by the act are close to the U.S. military bases in the Philippines, saying that doesn't rule out that the Philippines and the U.S. will take this opportunity to collude with each other to monitor passing ships, threatening the navigation safety of all countries.

As for Rong, the main purpose of the two bills introduced by the Philippine side is to solidify its illegal claims by implementing the illegal arbitral award on the South China Sea.

"Meanwhile, the Philippines continues to hype up the South China Sea issue, accelerate the internationalization of the issue and provoke the U.S. and its allies to continue to support its illegal claims and infringing acts," Rong said.

Acknowledging the South China Sea issue matters a lot to regional peace, stability and prosperity, Rong said the U.S., as a country outside the region, should respect and support China, other relevant countries and ASEAN in jointly managing differences and promoting efforts to build a sea of peace, cooperation and friendship.

As for the upcoming new U.S. administration, Rong said if it truly cares about peace and stability in the South China Sea, it should adjust its policy, abide by international law, respect the efforts made by China and other relevant countries to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea and stop interfering with and benefiting from it.