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TERRITORIAL ISSUE:WEST PHILIPPINE SEAENVIRONMENTAL FORCES AND CONDITIONSWest Philippine Sea covers more than 3 million square kilometers (1.16 million square miles) on the western edge of the Pacific, with China and Taiwan to the north, the Philippines to the east, Borneo island to the south, and Vietnam to the west.

It contains hundreds of small islands, islets and rocks, most of which are uninhabited. The Paracel and Spratly chains contain the biggest islands.

It is an extremely significant body of water in a geopolitical sense. It is the second most usedsea lanein the world.

The region has provenoilreserves of around 1.2km (7.7 billionbarrels), with an estimate of 4.5km (28 billion barrels) in total.Natural gas reserves are estimated to total around 7,500km (266 trillion cubic feet).

According to studies made by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines, this body of water holds one third of the entire world's marine biodiversity, thereby making it a very important area for the ecosystem. Several countries have made competing territorial claims over the West Philippine Sea...

PUBLIC POLICIES 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article I National Territory

Presidential Decree No. 1599 - Establishing an exclusive economic zone

Republic Act No. 9522- An act to amend certain provisions of RA # 3046, to define the archipelagic baseline of the Philippines

Republic Act No. 3046 - the baselines of the territorial sea of the Philippines Presidential Decree No. 1596 - Declaring certain area part of the Philippine territory and providing for their government and administration

Administrative Order No. 29 - Naming the West Philippine Sea of the Republic of the Philippines

1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)Territory it includes not only the fixed portion of land over which the jurisdiction of the state extends (territorial domain), but also the rivers lakes therein, a certain area of the sea which abouts upon its coasts (fluvial and maritime domain) and the air space above the land and waters.

Under this condition, all the lands and waters that comprise to the Philippines and valid title are basically subjected to the jurisdiction of the state (Philippine).

POLICY EVALUATIONAdministrative Order No. 29

In response to the issue of West Philippine Sea and to the sovereign right vested to the Philippines, AO No. 29 of Benigno S. Aquino III is emphasizing that Philippines has the sovereign rights over South China Sea by naming South China Sea as West Philippine Sea. FeaturesThe maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago are hereby named as the West Philippine Sea. These areas include the Luzon Sea as well as the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo De Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal.

It command that all department, agencies, and the likes will be using West Philippine Sea as a name for it be popularize and be known by the public.

Philippines will produce and publish maps and charts of the Philippines reflecting and introducing West Philippine Sea as part of the jurisdiction of the state. - National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA)According to the AO 29, the Philippines exercises sovereign rights under the principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), to explore and exploit, conserve and manage the natural resources, whether living or nonliving, both renewable and nonrenewable, of the seabed, including the subsoil and the adjacent waters, and to conduct other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of its maritime domain, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds.

OBSERVATIONS

South China Sea = ChinaEast Sea = VietnamWest Philippine Sea = Philippines

The use of WPS, SCS, or ES is just a geographic description . They are just labels devoid of any legal meaning that can be used for any form of ownership.

The welfare of OFWs in China,

Philippines-China relations, in terms of tourism and trade.

RECOMMENDATION(DECISIONS FOR THE FUTURE)

Source : scarboroughshoalpinoy.weebly.com Government should have a clear, feasible and resolute security and defense strategy for the West Philippine Sea. The Philippine government must provide the appropriate safety net for the OFWs. Bilateral agenda should move forward while contentious issues will be abstracted for separate treatment.

All Filipinos should stand behind the President to defend what is ours in accordance with the Philippine Constitution.