Some researchers contend that a sovereign state has three (3) interrelated functions in the maritime domain: maritime safety, maritime security and maritime defense. These functions require legislation, compliance to some international conventions, and executive issuances that are directed to various maritime agencies. Maritime safety, the first function, refers to actions that promote safety of life at sea including search and…
As the jurisdiction to the BENHAM RISE plateau was finally given to the Philippines in 2017, unknown to many, the Philippines has an Oceanographic and Research Capability that dates back to the 1900s until the present. In December 1900, the US Coast and Geodetic Survey (USCGS) sent personnel to Manila to establish the sub-office of the USCGS in the Philippines….
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The construction of military-grade bases in three artificial islands (Subi, Fiery Cross and Mischief Reefs), posting of troops with missile defense capability in four others (Cuarteron, Gaven, Hughes, and Johnson South Reefs), conduct of regular naval and coast guard patrols, and use of paramilitary fishing units in the South China Sea are clear indications that China’s maritime campaign has fully…
The Philippine Coast Guard’s first Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) was formally launched in OCEA shipyard in France on July 17. PCG Commandant Admiral Elson E Hermogino, with the Deputy Chief of PCG Staff for Strategic Studies and Modernization, Captain Ferdinan B Picar, PCG Spokesperson Captain Armando A Balilo, and officials from Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA)…
With over 2 million square kilometers of coastal and oceanic waters connecting the archipelago, the Philippine fishery is one of the major sources of food and income of the population. This area contains a common property resource – fishery and aquatic – that needs protection for the present and future generations. Recent reports indicate that among the country’s major economic…
Oceans cover 70% of the Earth’s surface area, forming the largest habitat on the planet. Coastal and shallow-water areas contain some of the world’s most diverse and productive ecosystems, including seagrass beds, mangroves, and coral reefs. The 7000 islands of the Philippines are home to an enormous number of coral reef systems that not only contribute to global atmosphere health…
Introduction There appears to be much disagreement, if not chaos, arising from discussions on certain law of the sea concerns of the Philippines. Politics is clearly a factor here, but undeniably, there is likewise an issue concerning the appreciation of the law(s). As a sovereign state, the Philippines has a government and exercises sovereignty over its subjects and its territory….
“Great Powers, Grand Strategies: The New Game in the South China Sea,” edited by Anders Corr (U.S. Naval Institute Press, 2018), is a good read because it puts the South China Sea conflict into a global strategic context. In so doing, it looks at the movements of China well within the EEZ of Philippine coasts, a topic dear to my heart,…
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“It would be ‘dumb’ of the Philippines to allow China to explore Philippine Rise despite Beijing’s disrespect for a U.N.-backed arbitral court ruling recognizing Manila’s sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.” – Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15-January-2018) “Benham, or Philippine Rise, is part of our EEZ and the exploitation of its resources is…
Feature story: Rearing a Maritime Nation by VADM Emilio C. Marayag, Jr. AFP (Ret). Also in this issue: Philippine Maritime Conference 2017 at the PhilMarine 2017 by Vicky Viray-Mendoza; Learning from Korea by COMMO Carlos L. Agustin AFP (Ret); Statement of Justice Carpio on China’s threat to go to war with the Philippines by Justice Antonio T. Carpio, Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines; and PRS Supports MARINA with latest Technology on Probabilitic Damage Stability Calculations.
The presentation of some groups working to promote awareness of the archipelagic and maritime nature of the nation is one of the highlights of the recent Maritime Forum held last month at the National Defense College of the Philippines. This could have been triggered by the developing situations in the South China Sea and Benham Rise in the Philippine Sea….
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PART I “DUTERTE: ‘MINING FIRMS FUNDING DESTABILIZATION PLOT.’ President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday accused some mining firms of financing what he called a ‘destabilization’ plot against his Administration.” Manila Times, 14-March-2017 During a presscon in Malacañang with Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on 13-March-2017, President Rody Duterte said mining firms were funding the political opposition…
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Five years ago, the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf adopted in its entirety the Philippine submission to extend the country’s seabed boundary in the Philippine Sea with the discovery of the Benham Rise Region. The UN concurrence added 135,506 square kilometers, about 45% of the nation’s land area, to Philippine seabed area and the waters…
The Philippine fishing company, Frabelle Fishing Corporation, has recently concluded the Friend of the Sea (FOS) certification renewal audit. Yellowfin, skipjack, bigeye, and bullet tuna products from Frabelle can continue to display the FOS official seal of approval. Fishing Method. The tuna is caught through the purse seine method by the company’s certified vessels in the Western Central part of…