LAWMAKERS on Tuesday passed on third and final reading a measure seeking to establish archipelagic sea lanes in Philippine waters and air routes to ensure continuous and unobstructed passage in its territory.
All 258 lawmakers voted in favor of House Bill No. 9034, the proposed Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act.
Once enacted, the law mandates the President to designate the coordinates of the archipelagic sea lanes and air routes for the continuous passage of foreign ships and aircrafts over Philippine archipelagic waters and adjacent seas.
It also ensures the recognition of rights and privileges of foreign vessels and aircraft in Philippine archipelagic waters “under conditions of reciprocity and mutual respect.”
Under the measure, penalties will be imposed on foreign civilian ships and aircraft based on the proposed law, as well as existing fisheries, environmental, customs, fiscal, immigration, sanitary, and other laws.
It added that vessels and aircraft that do not abide by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) “shall not be entitled to exercise the rights, nor be owed the obligations, relative to the regime of archipelagic waters and the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage under the UNCLOS. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz