Senate ratifies Philippines-Indonesia deal on exclusive economic zones overlap

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate has concurred with the ratification of the agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia to end the dispute over their overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZs).

Sen. Loren Legarda, chair of the Senate committee on foreign relations, on Tuesday sponsored a resolution concurring with the ratification of the “Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Philippines and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia Concerning the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone Boundary.”?The Senate also approved the treaty on second reading.

Legarda said both the Philippines and Indonesia are state parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which gave parties entitlements to a 200-nautical mile EEZ for utilization of living and non- living resources.     

The two countries have overlapping EEZs in the Mindanao and Celebes seas, and in the southern section of the Philippine Sea in the Pacific Ocean.

Legarda said the delimitation or division of the overlapping EEZ of opposite states shall be settled by an agreement on the basis of international law in order to achieve an equitable solution. 

Pursuant to UNCLOS, the Philippines and Indonesia conducted a series of negotiations to delimit their overlapping EEZs and embody the results of the negotiations in an agreement.