Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act now getting closer to becoming a law

THE Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act or Senate Bill No. 2665 authorizing the President to establish archipelagic sea lanes (ASLs) in Philippine waters is a step closer to becoming a law after it was passed on third and final reading.

The Sea Lanes Act, which obtained 22 votes from the Senate, also empowers the President to prescribe the obligations of foreign ships and aircraft.

Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, author and sponsor of the bill said this is a landmark measure that aims to strengthen the country’s territorial integrity and national security.

“With the passage of this measure, Congress has moved to put our archipelagic house in order,” Tolentino said.

“Designating ASLs will solidify the country’s maritime domain and prevent arbitrary passage in the Philippine archipelago by foreign vessels and aircraft,” he noted.

“We will be able to better monitor the movement of foreign vessels and aircraft and ask them to leave should they pose a threat to our peace and order, and national security,” he added.

The senator said passing the measure together with the Maritime Zones Act are made more urgent in view of the frequency and severity of the aggressive behaviors of China.

“While before, their aggression was only limited within the waters at the West Philippine Sea, just recently, on August 8…two aircraft of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force performed dangerous maneuvers and dropped flares near a Philippine Air Force aircraft conducting a maritime patrol over Bajo de Masinloc,” Tolentino noted. 

He explained that the designation of ASLs is a discretion that the Philippines, as an archipelago and a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), may exercise under Article 53 of the international agreement.

SBN 2665 defines ASLs as “designated sea lanes in the archipelagic waters and air routes thereabove through which foreign vessels may exercise the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage.”

The measure also defines the “right of innocent passage,” as the “continuous and expeditious passage of foreign vessels through the territorial sea that is not prejudicial to the peace, good order, or security of the Philippines.”