RP protests claims over Kalayaan islands before UN

Three months after three other countries formally submitted to the United Nations their claims over the disputed Kalayaan Island Group (KIG), the Philippines finally registered its protests to those claims. Two protests to the unilateral submissions of Vietnam and Palau and another on the Joint Submission of Malaysia and Vietnam were filed by the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

The diplomatic protests were received by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the United Nations in New York on Aug. 4, shortly before the deadline. The Philippines almost exhausted the 90-day period given to states to lodge their protest. Malaysia and Vietnam on May 6 formally made a joint claim on the southern part of the South China Sea as part of their continental shelf. China promptly protested the submission the following day. Vietnam filed its own protest on May 8, while Malaysia’s note verbale in reply to China’s protest was received on May 20. One of the areas that Malaysia is claiming as its extended continental shelf was clearly projected from Sabah, thereby effectively declaring Sabah to be a Malaysian territory. Its claim also covers the outer edge of the continental margin in the southern part of the South China Sea, an area that includes the KIG which the Philippines has declared as a regime of islands under its baselines law. Malaysia and Vietnam are among the claimant countries to the cluster of islands in the South China Sea referred to as the Spratlys. The same islands are also contested by the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and China. The Philippine claim in the Spratlys covers eight islands and reefs. Along with Malaysia, the Philippines is also claiming Sabah, which is on the northern part of Borneo. For the past decades, the two countries have shelved the issue for the sake of peaceful co-existence between them. The Malaysian claim over Sabah is based on a perpetual lease that began in 1963. The Malaysian government is still paying an annual rent of 5,300 Malaysian ringgit, or less than P70,000, to the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu. Sabah was ceded by the Sultan of Brunei to the Sultanate of Sulu, which ruled Sabah until it was leased. The Philippines formally asserted that Sabah was part of its territory in 1962, based on the claims of the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu, who had ceded proprietary rights over Sabah to the Philippines. In their joint submission, Vietnam and Malaysia said they “may make further submissions, either jointly and unilaterally, in respect to other areas." On May 7, Vietnam made a unilateral partial submission of its extended continental shelf in the northern part of its territory, covering part of the disputed Spratlys chain. Unlike the Philippines, China protested on the same day. Vietnam replied to China’s protest on May 8. It was the first time that China had attached a map to its diplomatic protest to submissions that had to do with the disputed South China Sea. In both notes verbale protesting the joint submission of Malaysia and Vietnam and the unilateral submission of Vietnam, China reiterated its “indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the SCS (South China Sea) and the adjacent waters and enjoys sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the relevant waters as well as the seabed and subsoil thereof." China also asserted that such indisputable sovereignty “is consistently held by the Chinese government, and is widely known by the international community." Vietnam was quick to note that and pushed back, stating that the map “has no legal, historical basis, (and is) therefore null and void." It also asserted that the Spratlys archipelago or Troung Sa is part of its territory and that it “has indisputable sovereignty over these archipelagos." While Vietnam and China both declared sovereignty over the disputed area, the Philippine protest merely stated that the “Joint Submission for the Extended Continental Shelf by Malaysia and Vietnam lays claim on areas that are disputed not only because they overlap with that of the Philippines, but also because of the controversy arising from the territorial claims on some of the islands in the area including North Borneo." Citing the relevant articles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Rules of procedure of the Commission on the Law of the Sea that disqualifies a submission on disputed areas, the Philippines requested the commission “to refrain from considering the aforementioned Joint Submission by Malaysia and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, unless and until after the parties have discussed and resolved their disputes." As of press time, the Philippine protest has drawn no response. In its protest, the Philippines said the areas covered by Vietnam’s unilateral partial submission are “disputed because they overlap with those of the Philippines." Citing the same provisions of the UNCLOS pertaining to disputed areas, the Philippines requested deferment of the commission’s consideration of Vietnam’s unilateral submission. The Philippines also contested the submission by the Republic of Palau establishing the outer limits of its continental shelf that lie beyond 200 nautical miles. It said the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of Palau is measured overlaps with the maritime jurisdiction of the Philippines. While Palau recognized a “potential overlap" between its continental shelf with that of the Philippines, it stated that its submission is without prejudice to the question of delimitation of that area. Earlier, VERA Files reported that the Philippines border talks are under way with seven of its neighbors with whom its extended continental shelf may overlap. The Philippine Archipelagic Baseline law, which defines the territorial boundaries of the country, has projected a continental shelf that overlaps with those of Japan, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Palau, Malaysia and Indonesia. The converging fishing grounds of the Philippines and Palau have often led to arrests of Filipino fishermen. A fisheries cooperation agreement between the countries is hoped to be forged soon that will establish common fishing grounds as well as allow joint fishing deals. Palau is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean some 800 km east of the Philippines. Filipinos, numbering about 21,000, comprise its second largest ethnic group. Tagalog, though not an official language, is the fourth most widely spoken language in Palau. (VERA Files is put out by veteran journalists taking a deeper look into current issues. Vera is Latin for “true.")