BY SAMMY JULIAN
HAPPY birthday to Mr. Nelson Golez of East Asia Construction Corp. May your birthday and every day be filled with the warmth of sunshine, the happiness of smiles, the sounds of laughter, the feeling of love and the sharing of good cheer.
***
After 20 long, arduous years, the patience, perseverance, sweat and tears of all those people involved in the crafting of the “Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia Concerning the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Boundary” were rewarded.
Last week, the two Southeast Asian countries inked this landmark accord that sets maritime boundaries in their overlapping areas.
The accord on the maritime boundary is the result of a rules-based negotiation between the Philippines and Indonesia to achieve an equitable delimitation of their overlapping exclusive economic zones in the Mindanao Sea, Celebes Sea and the Philippine Sea,
Obviously, this could serve as a model to peacefully resolve other territorial disputes in the region, particularly the tense South China Sea sovereignty row involving China and several Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, including the Philippines.
Undeniably, this is a new key milestone that would certainly bring great benefit for the two countries.
How? A country may establish an EEZ extending 200 nautical miles from its shore within which it has rights over the exploration and use of marine and energy resources.
The EEZ boundary line defines the limits of the overlapping sea space of the two countries thereby giving all their fishermen and other stakeholders a clear extent of the area where they can exercise the sovereign rights over the waters as provided for by national laws and treaties, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The EEZ boundary also enhances the efforts of the government agencies of both countries to enforce fishing, maritime and security laws.
The delimitation of maritime boundaries in Southeast Asia, which has often been described as the “scene of very active and innovative ocean boundary diplomacy,” is a particularly critical process since majority of states in the region are either coastal or archipelagic.
Nine out of the 10 Southeast Asian States – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore – are coastal States, and two of these States – the Philippines and Indonesia – are the world’s largest archipelagic States.
The complex geography of Southeast Asia has meant that all Southeast Asian waters are enclosed either as territorial seas, exclusive economic zones, or archipelagic waters.
This has resulted in a multitude of overlapping claims, some of which have caused tension in bilateral relations and undermined peace and stability in the region.
We believe it is now safe to say that the Philippines and Indonesia were able to recognize that this milestone agreement is founded on the principles of international law, particularly the UNCLOS.
Furthermore, it serves as solid proof to the steadfast commitment of both countries to uphold the rule of law and pursue a peaceful and equitable settlement of maritime concerns.
We should all now recognize that such agreement could serve as a model, a good example that any border disputes, including maritime border tension, can be resolved peacefully.
This as we continue to frown on the use of military might that only interferes and endangers stability and peace in our region or anywhere in the world.
The Philippines has learned so many lessons in the 20-year negotiations on the delimitation of the overlapping EEZs, particularly on the principles and the methods that were applied to reach an EEZ boundary line.
It should now be ready to apply what it has learned on a task far larger in scope./PN