9522 on March 10, 2009 (1) defining the baselines of our archipelago from its northernmost point to its southernmost part, including therein the
Spratlys and Scarborough, and (2) declaring the Philippines' sovereignty and jurisdiction over them.
President Duterte is considering the
Spratlys Islands as the next resettlement area for stubborn informal settlers amid government efforts to safeguard the country's territorial waters including the West Philippine Sea.
It seems so long ago the responsible officials have only ignored his suggestions: "(1) The Philippines can enter into a sea boundary agreement with Vietnam on our overlapping extended continental shelves (ECS) in the
Spratlys, based on the tribunal ruling that no geologic feature in the
Spratlys generates an exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
'If there's an impregnable Great Wall of Sand from the Scarborough Shoal to the
Spratlys, then we have to look elsewhere for our power and protein needs,' the senator said.
(3) As to the maritime zones of the Paracels and
Spratlys, Vietnam has adopted general principles as outlined in UNCLOS, without specifying precise details for the legal regime of each of the maritime features.
Senator Edgardo "Sonny" Angara Jr submitted a measure seeking to declare the Philippines-occupied Pagasa Island Cluster in the
Spratlys as a special ecological tourism zone to promote and develop the area as a tourist attraction while at the same time protecting its natural resources.
"Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan have all expanded islands in the
Spratlys as well, but at nowhere near the same scale as China," reports Derek Watkins in a report for the New York Times.
Lin Yu-fang said the landing drill was held on the Taiwan-administered island of Taiping, part of the
Spratlys -- a chain which is also claimed in whole or in part by China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei.
Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim parts of the
Spratlys.
They will discuss once again whether it is possible to convince China to forge some sort of peaceful detente over the
Spratlys and two other island problems -- the Paracels off northern Vietnam, and a small island group that has brought China and Japan to almost irrational loggerheads.