The Philippines has announced that it will speed up laws that will implement the law of the sea zone

By John Victor D. Ordoñez, A reporter

THE Philippine government should speed up enforcement of laws that define its exclusive economic zone amid China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, security analysts said at the weekend.

“Manila has yet to establish applicable laws and regulations and request permission from the International Maritime Organization in maritime areas to discredit any excessive claims by other states in the West Philippine Sea,” said Chester B. Cabalza, founding president of the Manila-based I-International Development and Security Cooperation, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

The International Maritime Organization is the agency responsible for maritime safety and security, according to its website.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. he signed the measure into law last week, which aims to assert the areas of Manila in its exclusive economic zone amid harassment from the Chinese Coast Guard.

The law demarcates the Southeast Asian country’s territorial boundaries as it tries to enforce a 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in favor of Manila’s claim over disputed waters in the South China Sea.

“It appears to be free from China’s vague and shifting claims, under which it pronounces ‘undisputed sovereignty’ over amorphous regions writing ‘near’ or ‘proper’ waters, but never clearly defined,” Raymond M. Powell, Fellow of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, he said in the X message.

In a statement on November 8, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs objected to the new law, which it says illegally annexes parts of China’s territories in the South China Sea.

“Once again, China urges the Philippines to immediately withdraw all its personnel and facilities from the above-mentioned islands and reefs and immediately remove the warship that was illegally stationed in Ren’ai Jiao (Second Thomas Shoal),” it said.

The Senate also passed a bill seeking to establish sea lanes in the Balintang Channel, Celebes and Sulu Seas, among other waterways, to ensure Philippine sovereignty.

In 2016, the High Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China’s claims had no legal basis, a decision Beijing rejected.

China claims its largest territory in the South China Sea, a channel for an estimated $3 trillion in annual shipping trade, despite competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Manila and Beijing have repeatedly clashed in the South China Sea, accusing each other of aggressive behavior involving their ships and damaging the maritime zone.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) chief Admiral Ronnie Gil L. Gavan last week said the PCG will receive 49 new ships by 2028, 40 of which are financed by a French loan worth P25.8 billion and five from Japan, to raise. patrols on the waterway.

“The new Law on Maritime Zones is a positive development that establishes the Philippines’ maritime claims as firmly based on accepted international law and gives Manila a way forward in strengthening its position as just,” said Mr. Powell.