The Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week war between Argentina and the

United Kingdom over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands, and its
territorial dependency, the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It began on Friday, 2 April
1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands (and, the following day, South Georgia
and the South Sandwich Islands) in an attempt to establish the sovereignty it had claimed over them. On
5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force
before making an amphibious assault on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with the
Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982, returning the islands to British control. In total, 649 Argentine
military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders died during the hostilities.

NECESSITY OF CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION ON NATIONAL TERRITORY

1. Binding force of such provision under international law.

- A state has the power to try, hear and decide cases throughout the extent of its territory. If there is a
territorial dispute it should be settled according to the international law.

2. Value of provision defining our national territory.

- It is important to know so that we and the other nations would know the boundaries of our country.

----the Philippines can propagate/publicized and enforce/implement/apply its laws within our country.

3. Acquisition of other territories.

- Even though the bounds of our national territory is already written in the law, this does not prevent the
Philippines from acquiring new territories by means of purchase, exchange, and such.

6. National Territory of the Philippines comprises of:

1. The Philippine archipelago with all the islands and waters embraced therein;

2. 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.

3. The terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains including the territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the
insular shelves, and other submarine areas thereof; and

4. The internal waters.

--- the waters Around, Between and Connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth
and dimensions

7. Archipelago Derived from the Greek word pelagos meaning “sea.” A sea or part of a sea containing
many islands. In other words, it includes both sea and islands which geographically may be considered as
an independent whole. Our country is comprised of the sea and all its islands which is considered to be
one single unit.

8. Other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction

9. According to the 1973 constitution, “all the other territories belonging to the Philippines by historic
right or legal”1. Philippine claim to Sabah Sabah is the northern part of Borneo. Coastline of 800 to 900
miles South China Sea in the West and North Sulu Sea in the Northeast Celebes Sea in the East It is 1,143km
from Manila and 1678 km from Kuala Lumpur.

10. The Sultan of Sulu was granted the territory of Sabahas a prize for helping The Sultan of Brunei against
his enemies and from then on that part of Borneo is recognized as part of the Sultan of Sulu’s sovereignty.
But in 1878, Baron Von Overbeck, a German representative of the British North Borneo Co. and his partner
Alfred Dent, a British representative of the British North Borneo Co. leased the territory known as “Sabah.”

11. Britain took Sabah on July 10, 1946 as part of its crown territories and then made the land part of the
Federation of Malaysia. The Philippines maintained that the contract with Overdeck and Dent was for
lease but the United Kingdom insisted it was for cession or transfer of ownership.

12. The Philippines broke diplomatic relations with Malaysia after the federation have included “Sabah.”
At that time, the current Sultan of Sulu have given the Philippine government the authority to pursue the
claim legally in international courts. In 1972, the Marcos administration revived the claim; but, the
“Jabidah Massacre” incident shelved it once more.

13. The Sulu Sultanate, in spite of it being located in Mindanao, is NOT the same as saying it is under the
rule of the Philippine government. It is, in fact, an independent Muslim state, which historically has
acquired territories in and around the Sulu Sea, including the island of Sabah. When Malaysia got its
independence from the British, the British company also "surrendered" Sabah to Malaysia. The claim of
the Sultan of Sulu would have more legal bearing if the Philippines recognized the Sulu Sultanate. As a
republic, the Philippine constitution does not recognize royalties. Also no country recognizes the Sultanate
of Sulu. Sabah will always be, politically speaking, ruled by Malaysia. Its ownership, however, will always
remain with the heirs of the Sultanate. Philippines might not ever get to claim Sabah as its rightful
territory.

14. 2. Philippine claim to Spratley Island. The Spratly Islands group consists of a large number of banks,
reefs, cays and islands stretching from a point. The Spratlies or some part thereof has been variously
claimed by China (both the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of China), Viet-Nam, France, Japan,
the Philippines, and, also Malaysia.

15. In 1956, a Filipino navigator named Tomas Cloma issued a "Proclamation to the whole World"
asserting ownership by discovery and occupation over all the territory, "33 islands, sands cays, sands bars
and coral reefs and fishing grounds in the Spratlies covering an area of 64,976 square nautical miles." This
claim provoked statements of protest against the Philippines by the Peoples Republic of China and the
Republic· of Viet-Nam.
16. The legal bases of the demand were as follows: ( 1) The Philippines has legal title to the island group
as a consequence of the occupation by Tomas Cloma (2) the presence of the Chinese forces in Itu Aba
constituted a threat to the security of the Philippines; (3) the Chinese occupation of some islands in the
Spratly group constituted de facto trusteeship on behalf of the World War II allies which precluded the
gamsonning of the islands without the allies consent; and (4) the Spratly group is within the archipelagic
territory claimed by the Philippines.

17. In 1974, an official spokesman of the Philippine government announced that the Philippines had
garrisoned five of the islands within the group. At present, the Philippines have possession of seven
islands. A number of Filipino nationals have settled in these islands, and a local government has been
organized in one of them.

18. On June 11, 1978, President Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 1596 declaring most19 of the
islands, cays, shoals and reefs as belonging to the Philippines and forming an integral part of Philippine
territory. It named the area claimed "Kalayaan Island Group," which is a Filipinized version of the name
Tomas Cloma gave his discovery: "Freedom land." The group of islands was integrated as a municipality
of the province of Palawan.

19. Philippine island closest to the incorporated cluster decree cited a number of bases for the claim to
title, namely: (1) the area is part of the continental margin of the Philippine archipelago; (2) the islands do
not belong to any state, but by reason of history, indispensable need, and effective occupation and control
established in accordance with international law, should now be deemed subject to the sovereignty of the
Philippines; and (3) claims by other states over the area had lapse by reason of abandonment and cannot
prevail over that of the Philippines on legal, historical and equitable grounds.

20. Currently the Philippines is occupying nine features (seven islands, three reefs):

21. Details Features 37.2 ha. (2nd largest), pag-asa means hope Pagasa Island (Thitu Island) 18.6 ha. (3rd
largest), likas means natural or evacuate Likas Island (West York Island) 12.7 ha. (5th largest), parola
means lighthouse Parola Island (Northeast Cay) 7.93 ha. (8th largest), lawak means vastness Lawak Island
(Nanshan Island) 6.45 ha. (10th largest), kuta means fortress 0.57 ha. (14th largest), patag means flatKota
Island (Loaita Island) 0.44 ha. (15th largest and the smallest, panatâ means vow Patag Island (Flat Island)
Rizal is named after Dr. José P. Rizal, the national hero of the Panata Island (Lankiam Cay) PhilippinesRizal
Reef (Commodore Reef) Balagtas is named after Francisco Balagtas, a famous Filipino Balagtas Reef (Irving
Reef) poet Ayungin Reef (Second Thomas Reef) Ayungin is Leiopotherapon plumbeus, a Philippine-
endemic fish species

22. 2. Future claims by the Philippines to other areas. The phrase “all the other territories belonging to
the Philippines by historic right or legal title.” Found in 1973 constitution was omitted in the present
charter. -----is designed to improve our relations with Malaysia while allowing flexibility in pursuing the
Sabah claim.

23. Other areas included in the Philippine archipelago.

24. The Philippine territory consists of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains. Included in its fluvial
domains, in addition to the external waters, are:

1. Territorial sea - Part of the sea extending 12 nautical miles (19km) from the low water mark
2. The seabed - The land that holds the sea

3. The subsoil - Refers to everything beneath the surface soil and the seabed in which a State may limitly
exploit the resources underneath this region

4. Insular shelves - Submerged portions of a continent or offshore island. Referred as CONTINENTAL

SHELVES.

5. Other submarine areas - All areas under the territorial sea like seamount, trough, trench, basin, deep,
bank, etc

THREE-FOLD DIVISION OF NAVIGABLE WATERS.

26. From the standpoint of international law, the waters of the earth are divided into:

1. Inland or internal waters

2. Territorial sea (Supra)

3. High or open seas

All other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty - 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.

27. Archipelagic Principle Two elements:

1. The definition of internal waters (supra);

2. The straight baseline method of delineating the territorial sea. 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

28. 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.

29. Exclusive Economic Zone

- 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;

30. The Philippine Position

31. 1. Fatal effect application of 12 mile rule uponterritorial integrity of the Philippines – To apply to the
three-mile rule to the Philippines, with every islandhaving its own territorial sea, would have a fatal effect
upon the territorial integrity of the Philippines. It would mean the dismemberment of the archipelago
with the Sibuyan sea separating the Visayas, and the Mindanao Strait and the Sulu isolating Palawan from
the rest of the archipelago.

32. These and other areas of waters would cease to be Philippine waters; they would become
international waters or high seas, and fishing vessels from all nationscan enter to get fish and other living
resources of the sea which nature and Divine Providence intended for the Filipinos. Furthermore, warships
of even unfriendly nations could enter these waters and stay there with perfect legal right to do so. At the
same time, we would lose a large part of our territory on both sides of thearchipelago, towards the China
Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

33. 2. The Philippines, a single nation and a united state - More than seven thousand islands comprise the
Philippines ruled by one whole unitary government, bound by a common heritage, beholden to the same
tradition, pursuing the same ideals, interdependentand united politically, economically and socially as one
nation.

34. 3. Archipelago principle fully recognized bu UN Law of the Sea Convention - The archipelago principle
and the exclusive economic zone rights are now fully recognized in the U.N. Law of the Sea Convention. It
was approved by the interim Batasang Pambansa on February 27, 1984.

SCOPE OF JURISDICTION OVER NAVIGABLE WATER

1. Internal water - refers to the bodies of water within the archipelago that include among others
lakes and rivers. They are commonly referred to as Fluvial Waters
2. Territorial waters - usually, the conventional maritime belt of the archipelago. Originally covers a
3 N miles stretch, and now, 12 N miles around archipelago.
3. Exclusive economic zone - The bodies of water within the nautical radius of 200 N miles from the
outermost ring of the territorial sea, which extends the State the exclusive right to explore, to
exploit, to conserve, and to manage the maritime and natural resources
4. International seas - The high seas in the open seas which ownership belongs to all nations5State
in the advancement of human interest for the benefit of mankind.

Because the territorial sea of the Philippines is not specifically defined in any international convention but
only in our own constitution, the Archipelagic Sea Lanes (ASL) should be properly imposed and not just
follow what is already written in the international law that our territory can be passed through by any
foreign vessel so long as it has been the “normal” route of navigation since the term “normal” it not strictly
defined and is most probably to be used for other country's own national interest. Hence, it will be very
advantageous for the PH's national security and for our supposed exclusive and controlled exploitation of
own potential natural reserves.

Was it really important for the Philippines to take part in the Convention and confirm its approval to it?
This is because the constitution only covers internal affairs and the delimitation or delineation of the
maritime territory is an international aspect in the sense that whatever decisions undertaken will affect
the whole community of nations. To say simply, maritime relations are bounded by international laws.
And since PH has signed its approval for the convention, it is obliged to fulfill the provisions of the treaties
notwithstanding any concerns or possible domestic justifications. It is exactly for this reason that the other
countries do not recognize the baseline law imposed by our country since it only gives a national
justification.

It is important to note the most basic ideas about Archipelagic Doctrine that

"It is important to note the most basic ideas about Archipelagic Doctrine that"

TO CONCLUDE:

The Republic of the Philippines was the one which coined the archipelagic doctrine and is therefore
satisfied upon its recognition in the international law after years of it being only acknowledge
domestically.

As written in the Note Verbale of the Philippines to Australia, our country was willing and determined to
enact the legislation in accordance with the provisions of the convention which thus proved its absolute
adherence to the UNCLOS.

It is undeniably true that the Treaty of Paris plays a crucial part in the delimitation of our archipelagic
territory. However, this TOP poses an important issue given that the treaty does not necessarily state the
bounds of the territorial sea. It only states that all the islands in the archipelago were to be ceded to the
United States and thus, what is absolutely certain is that the Philippine Islands are the only ones
internationally accepted and agreed upon to be part of the Philippine territory.

So how did our country arrive to such policies? What were the bases and considerations for such
directions? These are the facts:

1. PH is an archipelago.

2. PH is at the very heart of Southeast Asia

3. PH is at the crossroads of major international navigational routes

4. The waters Southwest PH is a hotbed of geological resources and is even a great potential for a large
oil deposit

5. PH is the center of marine biodiversity being the highest in the world

The second legislation was the establishment of the maritime zones which was then followed by the third:
the establishment of archipelagic sea lanes in the archipelagic waters of the Philippines.

For a clear foundation about the subject matter, archipelago doctrine will serve a great purpose for the
national security since warships of foreign countries cannot enter at will the waters within the
archipelago. Furthermore, between the islands, alien submarines are prohibited from playing hide and
seek. Hence, the archipelagic principle is imperative for national safety, as protection from alien intruders.
Aside from the notion about security, the archipelagic principle is also necessary to protect the resources
at the sea. We all know that Philippine waters are rich fishing grounds and potential sources of oil and
minerals. If people from other countries with better technology and expertise can liberally enter these
waters, they can easily drain them of aquatic assets.

The Philippines weighed the advantages and the disadvantages very intricately and so despite the adverse
effects, our government has found substantial benefits which made us agree to the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) regarding the archipelago principle.

To note, the late Sen. Arturo Tolentino, Head of PH Delegation to UNCLOS, explained that the main reason
for the PH signing the Convention - “…was not just one of strict law but more of a choice of policy, after
weighing positive and negative factors. We put the question to ourselves in this form: Considering the
Convention as a whole with both beneficial and adverse effects, which would be more advantageous to
the Filipino people – to accept or to reject the Convention? We opted for acceptance. The provision of
the exclusive economic zone and the recognition of the archipelago principle contributed to tilt the
balance in favor of the signing of the Convention.”

The harmonization of our country's municipal laws with the international laws is not merely an obligation
but rather something that will benefit our country. Although the country has faced twenty-five long years
of various struggles to successfully have the archipelagic sea lanes of PH internationally acknowledged,
the brighter side of it is that finally, the ASL is now established for the Philippines consistent with UNCLOS.

• Its core is the Law of the Sea.

• Second, that it is anchored on two reasons, both for the national interest: national security and to avoid
our natural resources from being exploited by foreign entities.

• Third: the most important of which, is that it must consistent with the international laws as signed upon
in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

Enveloped in the UNCLOS is the passage of RA 9522. This was the first step for the enactment of the
legislation which:

• Declares Philippines as an archipelagic state

• Avails itself of the archipelagic baselines

• Indicates that it would define its maritime zones

From latin territorĭum, the territory is the portion of land belonging to a city, a province, a region,
a country, etc. The concept is also used to mention the location (ground, space) that an
organization or that a person controls or owns.
National, on the other hand, is an adjective that describes what belongs or which is linked to a
nation (constituent sovereignty of a State or the human community whose members share
common cultural characteristics).

The concept of national territory therefore concerns the portion of surface that belongs to a
particular country and on which a State exercises sovereignty. This is not only a space of Earth but
also air and sea space if the country in question has sides.
The national territory is divided into several sub - national entities. These administrative and
political divisions typically have a local authority which, in one way or another, meet the national
administration.
A city, a municipality and a region are examples of sub - national entities within a national
territory. The level of autonomy of these divisions depends on the legislation of each country.
In Spain, for example, the territory is divided into autonomous communities. These communities
are nations (like Catalonia and the Basque country) which are part of a unit (Spain) but have their
own culture and their own language. The autonomous communities and other sub-national
entities tend to become independent of the national State and, therefore, no longer to be part of
the national territory of the country to itself as free States.

There is a difference between rights of sovereignty and sovereign rights. A sovereign right is a
legal right possessed by a state which enables it to perform its official functions for the benefit of
the public. Sovereign right is attributed through authority of law, or in the case of the EEZ, the
Unclos. A sovereign right does not include law enforcement.

Binding force of such provision under international law - there is no rule in international law which
requires a State to define its territorial boundaries in its Constitution. The reason is that with or
without such a provision, a State under international law has the unquestioned right to assert
jurisdiction throughout the extent of its territory. Nor is such delimitation binding upon other
States who are not precluded from claiming title to territories which they think is theirs. In any
case, territorial disputes have to be settled according to the rules of international law.

Value of provision defining our national territory - nevertheless, it is important to define as

precisely as possible our national territory for the purpose of making known to the world the areas
over which we assert title or ownership to avoid future conflicts with other nations. As a sovereign
State, the Philippines can promulgate and enforce laws within our country. Every other power is
excluded from exercising dominion or jurisdiction without the consent of the Philippines.

Acquisition of other territories - incidentally, the definition of our national territory in our
Constitution does not prevent the Philippines from acquiring other territories in the future
through any of the means (e.g. purchase, exchange, etc.) sanctioned by international law.