The 1935 Constitution specifically set Philippine territory as being the metes and bounds set by the treaty of Paris, When Arturo Tolentino and the Philippine delegation went to the UNCLOS, they accepted the proposed archipelagic baselines on behalf of the Philippines. The result was a reduction of Philippine territory. The country's exclusive economic zone that we claim the Spratlys as being within does not confer sovereignty but merely sovereign rights. The two are not the same. The latter merely confers the right to exploit.
Word around the grapevine is that the Spratlys agreement with China for seismic testing used to be posted on the DFA website before it mysteriously vanished. Whoever is responsible for its disappearance should repost it on the net as there is nothing illegal about entering into an agreement for joint exploitation of a sovereign right.
An RTC judge in Zambales came up with a decision quite some time ago saying that it was not clear whether or not the Spratlys is a part of the Philippines. That decision was published in China. Heh.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment