PBA 2: CREATIVE NON-FICTION

NAME: John Lennard Costuna GRADE: 12 HUMSS

SEA THE TRUTH

In the recent years, there has been a dispute on who really owns the territories in the West
Philippine Sea. The Philippines has rights to the 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone (EEZ)
in those waters, just west of Palawan. However, there has been a problem. The People’s Republic
of China claims that some parts of the 200 nautical miles EEZ is theirs. Thus, the Philippines
decided to take the matter to the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS)
which both China and Philippines are part of. Through arbitral ruling, the Philippines won against
China. The Philippines is the rightful owner of the disputed islands and territories in those waters.
However, China does not accept the ruling and continued encroaching and occupying the
Philippine waters.

The West Philippine Sea is home to a rich marine biodiversity and is considered one of the
hotspots of marine culture. According to Robert Kaplan in 2014, a geopolitical analyst, the sheer
number of fishes in the West Philippine Sea could account to 1/10 of the global catch. It was also
found that the West Philippine Sea is home to coral reefs that span as large as Mindanao. It is home
to hundreds of thousands of marine lives. Furthermore, according to the Liquefied Petroleum Gas
Marketers Association (LPG-MA), the West Philippine Sea is prosperous in oil and natural gases.
Undoubtedly, the richness of the West Philippines Sea can help boost the economy of the country.

China claims “indisputable sovereignty” over all the waters including everything in it, the
reefs, the fishes, islands, rocks, living and non-living creatures. Their claimed 9-dashed line
comprises of almost 90% of the South China Sea. With that, it encroaches to 80% of the 200
nautical miles EEZ of the Philippines. China claims “historical rights” in the 9-dashed line area on
these waters and even created a map. And when they proceeded that case in the international
tribunal, they failed to show any coordinates that would support their claim. Thus, it was deemed
ambiguous by the international tribunal. However, that did not stop China from occupying the
islands. They made artificial islands, destroyed reefs, and built infrastructures in the islands. They
even sent militia vessels to block Philippine fishermen from fishing in the waters. They wanted to
have the resources in those waters for their own gains. China’s claims violate the Philippines’ legal
entitlement to an exclusive economic zone and extended continental shelf as stated by the
UNCLOS.

The Filipinos should fight for their rights over these islands. The government must act in
order to protect our territories. The West Philippine Sea is part of our identity and is the key to the
country’s economy. However, we cannot see the government acting on the issue. There are many
instances that the situation in the West Philippine Sea was overlooked. An event where the
government downplayed the situation was the incident wherein the Filipino fisherman were
rammed by the Chinese vessels and Duterte called it as “a simple maritime accident”. The
administration had done nothing but downplaying and failed compromising.

We Filipinos must act upon ourselves to protect our lands. Even though it may seem
difficult, the task of voting for our leaders is imposed upon each and every one of us. Filipinos
should vote for leaders who will fight for our rights, serve the people, and protect our freedom and
sovereignty. The Philippines is the rightful owner of the West Philippines Sea; thus, it is our duty
to protect it. Open your eyes, and see the truth.

SOURCES:

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1459330/activist-groups-fume-over-chinas-recent-west-ph-sea-
issues-govt-must-act-immediately

https://www.imoa.ph/speech-the-rule-of-law-in-the-west-philippine-sea-dispute/

https://askaviso.com/aviso-library/west-philippine-sea-diving-abundance-natural-resources-
marine-biodiversity/

https://globalchallenges.ch/issue/1/legal-victory-for-the-philippines-against-china-a-case-study/