PHILIPPINE TERRITORY

TERRITORY- is defined as the fixed portion on the surface of the earth on which the State settles and over which it has supreme authority. The components of the territory of the state are the terrestrial, fluvial, maritime and aerial domains.

The scope of the Philippine territory is found in Article I of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. It provides: "The national 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."

LAND TERRITORY (Terrestrial Domain) The territorial domain refers to the land mass, which may be integrate or dismembered, or partly bound by water or consist of one whole island. It may also be composed of several islands, like the Philippines, which are also known as mid-ocean archipelagos as distinguished from the coastal archipelagoes like Greece.

MARITIME TERRITORY (Fluvial and Maritime Domain) The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention and the Law of the Sea Treaty (or LOST by its critics), is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place from 1973 through 1982. The Law of the Sea Convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources

A. Internal waters Covers all water and waterways on the landward side of the baseline. The coastal state is free to set laws, regulate use, and use any resource. Foreign vessels have no right of passage within internal waters B. Territorial waters Out to 12 nautical miles from the baseline, the coastal state is free to set laws, regulate use, and use any resource. Vessels were given the right of "innocent passage" through any territorial waters, with strategic straits allowing the passage of military craft as "transit passage", in that naval vessels are allowed to maintain postures that would be illegal in territorial waters.

"Innocent passage" is defined by the convention as passing through waters in an expeditious and continuous manner, which is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or the security of the coastal state. Fishing, polluting, weapons practice, and spying are not innocent", and submarines and other underwater vehicles are required to navigate on the surface and to show their flag. Nations can also temporarily suspend innocent passage in specific areas of their territorial seas, if doing so is essential for the protection of its security.

C. Archipelagic waters The convention set the definition of Archipelagic States in Part IV, which also defines how the state can draw its territorial borders. A baseline is drawn between the outermost points of the outermost islands, subject to these points being sufficiently close to one another. All waters inside this baseline will be Archipelagic Waters and included as part of the state's internal waters.

D. Contiguous zone Beyond the 12 nautical mile limit there was a further 12 nautical miles or 24 nautical miles from the territorial sea baselines limit, the contiguous zone, in which a state could continue to enforce laws regarding activities such as smuggling or illegal immigration

E. Exclusive economic zones (EEZs) Extend 200 nautical miles from the baseline. Within this area, the coastal nation has sole exploitation rights over all natural resources. The EEZs were introduced to halt the increasingly heated clashes over fishing rights, although oil was also becoming important. The success of an offshore oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico in 1947 was soon repeated elsewhere in the world, and by 1970 it was technically feasible to operate in waters 4000 metres deep. Foreign nations have the freedom of navigation and overflight, subject to the regulation of the coastal states. Foreign states may also lay submarine pipes and cables.

F. Continental shelf The continental shelf is defined as the natural prolongation of the land territory to the continental margins outer edge, or 200 nautical miles from the coastal states baseline, whichever is greater. States continental shelf may exceed 200 nautical miles until the natural prolongation ends, but it may never exceed 350 nautical miles, or 100 nautical miles beyond 2,500 meter isobath, which is a line connecting the depth of 2,500 meters. Coastal states have the right to harvest mineral and non-living material in the subsoil of its continental shelf, to the exclusion of others.

The Philippine position of on the definition of its internal waters is commonly known as the archipelago doctrine. This is articulated in the second sentence of Article I, Sec 1 of the 1987 Constitution (see above). Our position is that our islands (as many as 7,100) should be considered one integrated whole instead of being fragmented into separate units each with its own territorial sea. Hence, in defining the internal waters of the archipelago, straight baselines should be drawn to connect appropriate points of the outermost islands without departing to radically from the general direction as one whole territory. The waters inside these baselines shall be considered internal and thus not subject entry by foreign vessels without consent of the local state. The archipelago doctrine has been embodied in the 1982 Convention of the Law of the Sea, with the modification that archipelagic sealanes shall be designated over the internal waters through which foreign vessels shall have the right of passage.

ARIAL DOMAINS This refers to the air space above the land and waters of the State. The Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations charged with coordinating and regulating international air travel. The Convention establishes rules of airspace, aircraft registration and safety, and details the rights of the signatories in relation to air travel. The Convention also exempts air fuels from tax. The document was signed on December 7, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, by 52 signatory states. The Convention defines the supreme authority of each state to its airspace. Relevant provisions of the convention relates to such recognition and the elements of a states territory.