Article I – THE NATIONAL TERRITORY

The national territory of the Philippines comprises:

1) the Philippine archipelago;
2) all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction

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.

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE

Body of water extending up to 200 nautical miles, within which the state may exercise sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve and manage the natural resources

The state in the EEZ exercises jurisdiction with regard to:

1. the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations, and structures;
2. marine scientific research;
3. the protection and preservation of marine environment;
PHILIPPINES

The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an island

nation located in the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia. The Philippines
named after King Philip II of Spain, is the 72nd largest country by area and
the third largest English speaking country in the world.

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

The national territory comprises the Philippine

archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced
therein, and all other territories over which the
Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting
of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains, including
its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular
shelves, and other submarine areas. The water around,
between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago,
regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of
the internal waters of the Philippines.
Other areas included in the Philippine archipelago.
The Philippine territory consists of its terrestrial, fluvial,
aerial domains. Included in its fluvial domains, in
addition to the external waters, are:
1. The territorial sea- It is the part of the sea extending 12
nautical miles (19 kms) from the low-watermark. It is
also- called the “marginal sea,” the “marginal belt,” or
the “marine belt.”
2. The seabed ( or sea floor or bottom sea)- This refers to
the land that holds the sea, lying beyond the seashore,
including mineral and natural resources;
3. The sub-soil- This refers to everything beneath the
surface soil and the seabed, including mineral and
natural resources;
4. Insular shelves ( or continental shelves) – They are the
submerged portions of the continent or offshore island,
which slope gently seaward from the low waterline to a
point where a substantial break in grade occurs, at
which point the bottom slopes seaward at a considerable
increase in slope until the great ocean depths are
reached;
5. Other submarine areas-They refer to all areas under the
territorial sea. Among oceanographic terms used are
seamount, trough, trench, basin, deep, bank,shoal, and
reef.
The Spratly Islands consist of more
than 100 small islands or reefs. They are
surrounded by rich fishing grounds and
potentially by gas and oil deposits. They
are claimed in their entirety by China,
Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions
are claimed by Malaysia and the
Philippines. About 45 islands are
occupied by relatively small numbers of
military forces from China, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Brunei has established a fishing zone
that overlaps a southern reef but has not
made any formal claim.
The Islands are located in the
Southeastern Asian group of reefs and
islands in the South China Sea, about
two-thirds of the way from southern
Vietnam to the southern Philippines.