菲律賓立法限定航道以鞏固海洋主權

【雙魚之論】英文拷到 G / D 找中文翻譯
It is evident that the United States is aware of the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN) intention to utilize the sea lanes through the Philippine Archipelago for access to and from the South Pacific region.
In response, the Philippines has passed new legislation, including the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act and The Philippine sea areas Act, aimed at establishing a robust legal framework to defend its maritime sovereignty. This framework is designed to counter the potential misuse of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) by foreign actors, namely China.
The next step for the Philippines is to designate specific seaplanes, and enhance its maritime enforcement capabilities, whether through its Coast Guard, Navy, or in collaboration with strategic partners.
It is anticipated that China will soon adopt a similar approach, enacting new laws to assert control over maritime zones in the South China Sea. Such actions would likely infringe upon the fundamental interests of the stakeholders in and out the region, further complicating the geopolitical landscape.

顯而易見，美國已經意識到中國人民解放軍海軍（PLAN）有意利用經過菲律賓群島的航道，進出南太平洋地區。作為回應，菲律賓頒布了新立法，包括《菲律賓群島航道法》和《菲律賓海域法》，旨在建立一個穩固的法律框架，以保護其海上主權。此框架特別針對外國勢力（尤其是中國）可能濫用《聯合國海洋法公約》（UNCLOS）的行為進行防範。

菲律賓接下來的步驟是指定具體的航道，並加強其海上執法能力，無論是透過其海岸警衛隊、海軍，還是與戰略夥伴的合作。預計中國將很快採取類似的策略，通過新法律以在南海建立對海域的控制。這些行動可能會侵犯區內外利益攸關者的根本利益，進一步複雜化地緣政治局勢。

菲律賓擬劃定海上航線，加強對中國的主權    SCMP 20241008 / Taimocracy翻譯

菲律賓群島海道法和海域法意在加強對未經授權的外國船隻的執法

菲律賓準備批准一項具有里程碑意義的法律，為外國船隻和飛機在其群島水域指定特定的海上和空中航線，直接挑戰中國在南海的廣泛主權聲索。

據參議院議長弗朗西斯“奇茲”埃斯庫德羅稱，菲律賓群島海道 (ASL) 法案以及配套措施《菲律賓海域法案》於上個月獲得國會批准，目前正等待總統小費迪南德馬可仕簽署。

埃斯庫德羅告訴《亞洲周刊》，這些措施隨後將根據《聯合國海洋法公約》（UNCLOS）提交給聯合國，該公約為各國海洋權利和責任建立了法律框架。

他強調，海上通道法案的最終版本不會對違規行為進行處罰，也不會向使用該航線的外國船隻收取費用。他說，執法工作將由民事機構菲律賓海岸警衛隊負責，“以免激起戰爭情緒”，並避免與中國的緊張局勢升級。

在二月的公開聽證會上，外交部長恩里克·馬納洛描述了這些法律將如何加強馬尼拉的主權。

「透過調整《海域法》、《菲律賓群島海道法案》、仲裁裁決和《聯合國海洋法公約》，菲律賓將為捍衛和維護主權權利建立更強的法律基礎，」他說。

「這種結盟不僅將加強該國對國際法的遵守，還將獲得國際社會的更多支持。」

菲律賓和中國在南海有長期的主權爭議。2016 年海牙法庭的一項裁決駁回了北京所謂的九段線，稱其沒有法律依據。但中國拒絕接受這項裁決，稱其為“非法”，這導致中國和菲律賓船隻之間發生多次對抗。

參與 2016 年仲裁的海事法和安全專家小亨利·本蘇托 (Henry Bensurto Jnr) 表示，菲律賓的兩項新法律將同時發揮作用。

現任馬尼拉駐土耳其大使本蘇托表示，《海域法》將菲律賓海域劃分為五個區域，最裡面的區域被列為「群島水域」。

他告訴《亞洲週刊》，只有菲律賓或印尼等群島組成的民族國家才能實施《聯合國海洋法公約》中的「群島水域」和「群島海道」概念。

他說，如果沒有指定的海上航線，其他國家可以在菲律賓群島水域內自由航行並“在任何地方行使通行權”，這為在這些水域不受管制的外國活動“創造機會”。

本蘇託說，中國科考船先前曾利用缺乏指定航道的情況，在轉發器關閉的情況下在菲律賓群島水域進行調查。例如，四月和五月，懸掛中國國旗的沈括號受到菲律賓軍方的監視，在卡坦端內斯島東北部附近可疑地「徘徊」和「飄忽不定」。

菲律賓海軍發言人羅伊·文森特·特立尼達準將表示，菲律賓空軍的一架偵察機使用“身份不明的設備”拍攝了這艘船，可能是為了科學研究或研究”，並補充說，這種「不穩定的行為」顯示中國有可能進行「海上研究」無論什麼原因」。

新的《海域安全法》意在透過限制外國船隻和飛機在指定的群島航線上來限制此類活動。

該立法規定了三個初始海道，現任菲律賓總統有權調整該數字。

第一條路線從菲律賓海穿過Balintang海峽到達西菲律賓海（馬尼拉對其聲稱擁有主權的南中國海部分地區的名稱），而另外兩條路線則從Celebes海開始，然後進入西菲律賓海。

第二條海道經過Sibutu海峽、Sulu海、Cuyo東海峽和Mindoro海峽。
第三條海道則穿越Basilan海峽、Sulu海、Nasubata海峽和Balabac克海峽。

菲律賓和中國就南海對抗相互指責

該法案遵守《聯合國海洋法公約》，允許商船和軍艦擁有“無害通過權”，前提是它們的應開啟應答器。該法案的措辭稱，「外國核動力船舶和運載固有危險或有毒物質的船舶」也是允許的，但這些船舶必須「攜帶文件並遵守預防措施」。

然而，除非現有國際防務協定涵蓋，否則禁止在群島水域進行軍事演習。此外，外國海洋科考船「在行使群島海道通行權時」也被禁止進行調查。

一位因無權接受媒體採訪而要求匿名的政府消息人士表示，目前三條海道應該足夠了，並指出世界上最大的群島印尼在 1996 年僅向國際海事組織提交了三條海道。

目前尚不清楚小馬可仕是否會在出席週四在寮國舉行的東協-中國峰會之前將這兩項法案簽署為法律。

外交部助理國務卿丹尼爾·埃斯皮里圖上週五證實，小馬可仕將在會議期間「絕對會」討論中國在西菲律賓海的侵略行為。

 

Philippines moves to define sea routes, strengthening sovereignty against China    SCMP 20241008

The Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act and Maritime Zones Act aim to bolster enforcement against unauthorised foreign vessels

The Philippines is poised to approve a landmark law that designates specific sea and air routes for foreign vessels and aircraft within its archipelagic waters, directly challenging China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea.

The Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes (ASL) Act – and companion measure the Philippine Maritime Zones Act – were approved by Congress last month and are now just awaiting President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s signature, according to Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

The measures will then be submitted to the United Nations in line with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), which establishes the legal framework for nations’ maritime rights and responsibilities, Escudero told This Week in Asia.

He emphasised that the final version of the sea lanes bill does not impose penalties for violations or charge foreign vessels for using the routes. Enforcement will be handled by the Philippine coastguard, a civilian agency, “so as not to stoke feelings of war” and avoid escalating tensions with China, he said.

During a public hearing in February, Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo described how the laws would strengthen Manila’s sovereign rights.

“By aligning the Maritime Zones Law, the ASL Law, the arbitral award, and Unclos, the Philippines would establish a stronger legal basis to defend and assert sovereign rights,” he said.

“This alignment would not only strengthen the country’s adherence to international law but also gain more support from the international community.”

The Philippines and China have long-standing competing claims in the South China Sea. A 2016 tribunal ruling in The Hague dismissed Beijing’s so-called nine-dash line as having no legal basis. But China has refused to accept the ruling, calling it “illegitimate”, which has led to numerous confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels.

The Philippines’ two new laws would work in tandem, according to maritime law and security expert Henry Bensurto Jnr, who took part in the 2016 arbitration.

The Maritime Zones Act delineates the country’s sea territory into five zones, with the innermost zone classified as “archipelagic waters”, said Bensurto, currently Manila’s ambassador to Turkey.

Only nation states composed of archipelagos like the Philippines or Indonesia can implement the concepts of “archipelagic waters” and “archipelagic sea lanes” under UNCLOS, he told This Week in Asia.

Without designated sea lanes, other nations could navigate freely and “exercise the right of way anywhere” within the Philippines’ archipelagic waters, which “creates an opportunity” for unregulated foreign activities in these waters, he said.

Chinese research vessels have previously exploited the lack of designated sea lanes to conduct surveys within the Philippines’ archipelagic waters while their transponders were turned off, Bensurto said. In April and May, for instance, the Chinese-flagged Shen Kuo was monitored by the Philippine military taking an “erratic track” and “loitering” suspiciously near northeastern Catanduanes island.

A reconnaissance plane of the Philippine Air Force photographed the vessel using “unidentified equipment, probably for scientific research or studies”, navy spokesman Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad said, adding that such “erratic behaviour” signalled the possibility of China conducting “maritime research, for whatever reason”.

The new ASL law aims to restrict such activities by confining foreign vessels and aircraft to designated archipelagic sea lanes.

The legislation specifies three initial ASLs, with the sitting Philippine president empowered to adjust this number. The first route traverses from the Philippine Sea through the Balintang Channel to the West Philippine Sea – Manila’s name for the parts of the South China Sea that it claims – while the other two paths begin in the Celebes Sea before also exiting into the West Philippine Sea.

The second ASL passes through the Sibutu Passage, Sulu Sea, Cuyo East Pass and Mindoro Strait. The third, meanwhile, traverses the Basilan Strait, Sulu Sea, Nasubata Channel and Balabac Strait.

Philippines and China trade blame over confrontation in South China Sea

The bill adheres to Unclos, allowing for the “right of innocent passage” for commercial vessels and warships, provided their transponders are activated. “Foreign nuclear-power ships and ships carrying inherently dangerous or noxious substances” are also allowed, but these have to “carry documents and observe precautionary measures”, according to the wording of the bill.

However, military exercises in archipelagic waters are prohibited unless covered by existing international defence agreements. Additionally, foreign marine research vessels are barred from conducting surveys “while exercising the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage”.

Three ASLs should be sufficient for now, said a government source who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, pointing out that Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago, had submitted only three ASLs to the International Maritime Organization in 1996.

It remains unclear whether Marcos Jnr will sign the two bills into law before attending the Asean-China Summit in Laos, which begins on Thursday.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu confirmed on Friday last week that Marcos Jnr would “definitely” address China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea during the meeting.

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3281438/philippines-moves-define-sea-routes-strengthening-sovereignty-against-china