Territory
Element of the State
The territory is the fixed portion of the
surface of the Earth inhabited by the
people of the State. It need not be exactly
defined by metes and bounds, so long as
there exists a reasonable certainty of
identifying it. No minimum land area is
required.
Modes of Acquisition
1) Occupation
2) Cession
3) Accretion
4) Prescription
5) Discovery
Occupation or Conquest
The territory is acquired by invasion or use of force contrary to
international law. It is the effective exercise of sovereignty over a
territory.
Effective occupation means the continued display of authority. It
involves:
(1) Intention and will to act as sovereign or animus occupandi
(2) Some actual exercise or display of such authority.
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Cession
This acquisition of territory is through a bilateral agreement making
one State a part of the territory of another. Cession is the transfer of
territory from one State to another by treaty.
The validity of cession depends on the valid title of the ceding State.
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Accretion or Accession
It is the natural process of land formation resulting in the increase of
territory. Accretion is the product where the area of the existing
territory was increased by force of nature.
Key factor here is that no act of any party is necessary to increase the
size of the territory.
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Prescription
The title is acquired by continuous and undisturbed exercise of
sovereignty over a period of time.
Requisites of Prescription:
(1) Must be exercised under titre de souverain
(2) Peaceful and uninterrupted
(3) Public and enduring for a certain length of time
(4) Territory must be terra nullius
Territory must NOT be terra nullius
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The Philippine Territory
Comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all
the islands and waters embraced therein, and all
other territories over which the Philippines has
sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its
terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains, including its
territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular
shelves, and other submarine areas. The waters
around, between, and connecting the islands of
the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and
dimensions, form part of the internal waters of
the Philippines. (Art. I, 1987 Constitution)
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The Philippine Archipelago
Treaty of Paris, December 10, 1898
“Spain cedes to the United States the archipelago known as the Philippines Islands, and
comprehending the islands lying within the following line” xxx
Treaty of Washington of 7 November 1900 between the United States and
Spain: Ceding Cagayan, Sibuto and Sulu.
Treaty of 12 January 1930 between the United States and Great Britain:
Ceding the Turtle and Mangsee Islands.
[BERNAS (2003), cited in Justice Velasco’s concurring opinion in Magallona v. Ermita, G.R. No. 187167 (2011)]
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What is the Archipelagic Doctrine?
The waters around, between, and connecting
the islands of the archipelago, regardless of
their breadth and dimensions, form part of the
internal waters of the Philippines.
Under the Archipelagic Doctrine, we connect
the outermost points of our archipelago with
straight baselines and consider all the waters
enclosed thereby as internal waters. The entire
archipelago is regarded as one integrated unit
instead of being fragmented into so many
thousand islands. (Cruz and Cruz, Philippine Political Law, p. 24)
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Purpose:
The main purpose of the archipelagic
doctrine is to protect the territorial interests
of an archipelago, its territorial integrity.
Without it, there would be “pockets of high
seas” between some of our islands and
islets, thus foreign vessels would be able to
pass through these “pockets of seas” and
would have no jurisdiction over it.
Territorial
Integrity
National
Security
Economic
Reasons
The West Philippine Sea Case
The Philippines filed an arbitration case to challenge China’s nine-dash line claim in
the South China Sea. On 29 October 2015, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled
that it has jurisdiction over the Philippines’ case questioning the legality of China’s
enormous claims in the South China Sea. The Philippines’ case is anchored on the
1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea which allows coastal States the right to
manage, explore and exploit areas within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic
zone. It also tackles the status of certain maritime features in the South China Sea
(which the Philippines calls the West Philippine Sea) and the maritime entitlements
they are capable of generating, and the lawfulness of certain actions by China in the
South China Sea that are alleged by the Philippines to violate the UNCLOS.
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The Philippines said China’s assertion of having “indisputable” and “historical”
claims that extend beyond what is allowed by the UNCLOS infringes on the
country’s maritime jurisdiction and prevents it from exercising its right under the
convention.
Territorial Dispute vs. Maritime Dispute
Territorial disputes emerge over ownership of the land features that dot the seas. A
territorial dispute is a disagreement between two or more States about which State
exercises sovereignty over a certain part of territory.
Maritime disputes, on the other hand, relate to overlapping jurisdictional claims over
maritime areas. Maritime zones such as an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and a
continental shelf provide sovereign rights but not full sovereignty.
The primary legal mechanism for managing or resolving maritime disputes is the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which has been signed and
ratified by Japan, China, and South Korea, among other countries. However, while
UNCLOS contains mechanisms for resolving maritime disputes, it does not apply to
sovereignty disputes over territory. Sovereignty disputes are instead subject to a
distinctive body of international law governing the acquisition of territory, which includes
principles such as effective occupation, cessation, and conquest.
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Arguments of the Philippines
1) Philippines’ and China’s respective rights
and obligations in regard to the waters,
seabed, and maritime features of the South
China Sea are governed by the UNCLOS; and
that China’s claims based on “historic rights”
encompassed within its so-called “Nine-dash
Line” are inconsistent with the UNCLOS and
therefore invalid;
2) The Philippines claims in particular that
Scarborough Shoal and eight of such
features in the Spratlys are low-tide
elevations or submerged banks that merely
generate a territorial sea, not an exclusive
economic zone (EEZ) or continental shelf
(CS)
3) That China has violated the UNCLOS by
interfering with the Philippines’ sovereign rights
and freedoms, through construction and fishing
activities that have harmed the marine
environment
Arguments of China
China contested the Tribunal’s jurisdiction on the
following grounds:
1)
2)
That the essence of the subject-matter of the
arbitration is the territorial sovereignty over
several maritime features in the South China
Sea (SCS), which is beyond the scope of the
Convention, and does not concern the
interpretation or application of the Convention
That the two countries have agreed, through
bilateral instruments and the Declaration on the
Conduct of Parties in the SCS, to settle their
relevant disputes through negotiations. Thus,
the Philippines’ resort to arbitration is a breach
of its obligations under international law;
3) Even assuming, arguendo, that the subject
matter of the arbitration were concerned with the
interpretation or application of the Convention, that
subject-matter would constitute an integral part of
maritime delimitation, which is covered by China’s
2006 declaration excluding maritime delimitation
from its acceptance of compulsory dispute
settlement procedures under the UNCLOS.
What are the significant pronouncements of the Permanent Court of
Arbitration in its July 12, 2016 ruling?
1)
2)
3)
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There was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights
to resources, in excess of the rights provided by the
Convention, within the sea areas falling within the socalled and imaginary nine-dash line;
All of the high-tide features of the Spratly Islands are
legally considered as rocks; as such these rocks do not
generate an exclusive economic zone or continental shelf;
and
China had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights with
respect to its exclusive economic zone and continental
shelf including China’s interference with Philippine
petroleum exploration in the said areas, the construction
and installations of artificial islands without the
authorization of the Philippines, and the prohibition of
fishing by Philippine vessels and fisher folks within the
Philippines’ own exclusive economic zone.
Island vs. Rock
An island is a naturally formed area
of land, surrounded by water, which
is above water at high tide.
Rocks that cannot sustain human
habitation or economic life of their
own shall have no exclusive
economic zone or continental shelf
[Art. 121, UNCLOS]
What are the maritime zones of the U.N.
Convention on the Law of the Seas, April
30, 1982, which are pertinent to the claim
of the Philippine government?
1. Internal Waters
2. Territorial Sea
3. Contiguous Zone
4. Exclusive Economic Zone
5. Continental Shelf
6. High Seas
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EXTENT and DEFINITION
RIGHTS and POWERS OF STATES
Internal Waters
These are waters enclosed Sovereignty over these waters is the
by the archipelagic
same extent as sovereignty over the
baselines, regardless of
land
their depth or distance from
the coast. All waters (part of
the sea, rivers, lakes, etc.)
landwards from the baseline
of the territory.
Territorial Sea
Territorial Seas are defined
by historic right or treaty
limits. As defined in the
Convention on the Law of
the Sea, it has a uniform
breadth of 12 miles
measured from the lower
water mark of the coast.
Coastal states exercise sovereignty
over Territorial sea and it extends to
the airspace over the territorial sea
and to its seabed and subsoil.
EXTENT and DEFINITION
RIGHTS and POWERS OF STATES
Contiguous Zone
It is the zone adjacent to the
territorial sea. The contiguous zone
may not extend more than 24
nautical miles beyond the baseline
from which the breadth of the
territorial sea is measured 12
nautical miles from the territorial
sea.
The coastal state does not have
sovereignty over the contiguous zone
because the contiguous zone is a
zone of jurisdiction for a particular
purpose, not of sovereignty. State
may exercise control as is necessary
to: (1) Prevent infringement of its
customs, fiscal, immigration, or
sanitary laws within its territory or its
territorial sea or (2) Punish such
infringement
Exclusive
Economic Zone
It gives the coastal State sovereign States may exercise:
rights overall economic resources • Sovereign rights; and
of the sea, sea-bed and subsoil in • Other rights and duties are
an area extending not more than
provided for in the Law of the Sea
200 nautical miles beyond the
Convention.
baseline from which the territorial
sea is measured.
EXTENT and DEFINITION
EXTENDED
It is the seabed and subsoil of the
CONTINENTAL SHELF submarine areas extending beyond the
territorial sea of the coastal state
throughout the natural prolongation of its
lands territory up to: (a) The outer edge of
the continental margin; or (b) A distance of
200 nautical miles from the baselines of
the territorial sea where the outer edge of
the continental margin does not extend up
to that distance.
RIGHTS and POWERS OF STATES
The continental shelf does not form part of
the territory of the coastal state.
It only has sovereign rights with respect to the
exploration and exploitation of its natural
resources, including the mineral and other
non-living resources of the seabed and
subsoil together with living organisms
belonging to the sedentary species.
The coastal state has the exclusive right to
authorize and regulate oil-drilling on its
continental shelf.
HIGH SEAS
They are all parts of the sea that are not
included in the territorial sea or in the
internal waters of a state. (Article 1,
Geneva Convention)
They are beyond the jurisdiction and sovereign
rights of state. It is treated as res communes
or res nullius, and thus, are not part of the
territory of a particular State.
Philippine Territorial Subdivisions
The Philippine archipelago is divided into 17 territorial and political regions,
81 provinces, 146 cities, 1,488 municipalities, and 42,046 barangays.
Barangay – contiguous area containing at least 2,000 population, except in Metro
Manila with at least 5,000; created by Congress or by Ordinance of either provincial
board or town council; and voted by the majority of those affected in an election
Municipality – Has the contiguous territory of at least 50 square kilometers, with at
least 25,000 inhabitants; with an average annual income of at least P2.5M for the
last two consecutive years-based on 1911 constant prices; approved by the majority
votes by those affected in an election; and created through an Act of Congress
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Philippine Territorial Subdivisions
Component City – Created by Act of Congress; approved by the majority votes of
those affected in an election; with a generated average income of at least P100M for
the last two consecutive years – based on 2000 constant prices; with at least
150,000 inhabitants; and in a contiguous territory of at least 100 square kilometers
Province – Has an average annual income of at least P20M – based on 1991
constant prices, with the contiguous territory of at least 2,000 square kilometers;
and created by Act of Congress.
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