Article I - National Territory
Article I - National Territory
Article I - National Territory
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO – that body of water studded with islands which is delineated in the Treaty of Paris (1898), as amended by the Treaty of Washington (1900) and the Treaty with Great Britain (1930).
– consists of its
a) Terrestrial
b) Fluvial
c) Aerial domains
– including its
a) Territorial sea
b) The seabed
c) The subsoil
d) The insular shelves; and
e) The other submarine areas
INTERNAL WATERS – the waters Around, Between and Connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions
ALL OTHER TERRITORIES OVER WHICH THE PHILIPPINES HAS SOVEREIGNTY OR JURISDICTION–includes any territory that presently belongs or might in the future belong to the Philippines
through any of the accepted international modes of acquiring territory.
ARCHIPELAGIC PRINCIPLE
Two elements:
1. The definition of internal waters (supra);
2. The straight baseline method of delineating the territorial sea – consists of drawing straight lines connecting the outermost points on the coast without departing to any appreciable extent from the general direction
of the coast.
Important distances with respect to the waters around the Philippines
-Territorial Sea 12 nautical miles (n.m.)
-Contiguous Zone 12 n.m. from the edge of the territorial sea
-Exclusive Economic Zone 200 n.m. from the baseline
[includes T.S. and C.Z.]
NOTE: There can be a Continental Shelf without an EEZ, but not an EEZ without a Continental Shelf.
TERRITORIAL SEA
The belt of the sea located between the coast and internal waters of the coastal state on the one hand, and the high seas on the other, extending up to 12 nautical miles from the low water mark.
CONTIGUOUS ZONE
Extends up to 12 nautical miles from the territorial sea. Although not part of the territory, the coastal State may exercise jurisdiction to prevent infringement of customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws.
The Philippines lies between 116° 40’ and 126° 34’ E longitude and 4° 40’
and 21° 10’ North latitude. It is composed of 7,107 islands and has a total
land area of approximately 300,000 square kilometers including about
298,000 square kilometers of land and about 2,000 square kilometers of
water. It stretches about 1,850 kilometers surrounded by the Philippine Sea
on the east, the South China Sea at the west and the Celebes Sea on the
south. Its nearby neighbors are Taiwan to the north, Malaysia and Indonesi
to the south, Vietnam to the west, China to the northwest and Palau is to the
east beyond the Philippine Sea.
ARTICLE I
NATIONAL TERRITORY