00:00 What is the relevance of the pending measures with the incident that transpired yesterday?
00:10 Will it help?
00:11 Will it clarify?
00:12 Will it dilute the confusion?
00:16 Will it foster more amicable situations insofar as the Coast Guard is concerned?
00:27 Anybody from the Coast Guard?
00:32 Thank you Mr. Chair.
00:33 On the part of the Philippine Coast Guard, sir, I think the passage of the maritime zones
00:38 would help the Philippine Coast Guard as a law enforcement agency and the armed forces
00:43 of the Philippines in clearly identifying the maritime zones of the Philippines.
00:51 With respect to the incident that happened in Ayungin Shoal, which falls within the exclusive
00:57 economic zone of our country, I think the passage of a maritime zone would clearly strengthen
01:03 our defined zones in our maritime jurisdiction, sir.
01:10 Will it enable other states to follow international norms and standards as a form of an obligation
01:25 under existing international customary laws?
01:30 Will it enable them to adhere?
01:34 Will it force them to follow?
01:38 If we pass this maritime zone law, will it force adherence and compliance, making it
01:50 obligatory for them to respect not just our territory but maritime safety as well?
02:00 Mr. Chair, I would like to believe that the countries in the region and other claimant
02:04 states in the South China Sea, which all of them are signatory to the United Nations Convention
02:10 of the Law of the Sea, are in the obligation to respect our maritime jurisdiction if ever
02:17 we're going to define our maritime zones.
02:20 But of course, that's a belief that we would like to carry on, but obviously there are
02:28 some states who would choose not to respect the provisions of the international law, particularly
02:34 the UNCLOS.
02:35 So I don't want to be that pessimistic to argue that all of the countries would respect
02:44 our maritime zones even if we're going to pass our own maritime zone, sir.
02:53 Thank you, Kosgard.
02:54 Can we have another opinion just to edify this committee coming from the office of the
03:01 Solicitor General?
03:02 Good afternoon, Senator.
03:03 Good afternoon, Senator Valentino.
03:05 Based on my reading of the proposed bills on the Philippine maritime zones, immediately
03:13 it occurs to me that this is essentially a reflection of the relevant provisions of the
03:21 UNCLOS to which more than a hundred countries are members.
03:28 And therefore, if we have a law like this, which is essentially a reflection of an international
03:35 convention where the members comprise practically the entire international community, there
03:43 is an expectation, Mr. Chairperson, Senator Valentino, of an obligation on the part of
03:53 these member states to comply with our own laws, since these are, as I said, a reflection
04:02 essentially of an international convention of which they are members.
04:07 Thank you.
04:08 Thank you.
04:08 Thank you.
Comments