Like China, Malaysia also protests against new PH maritime laws
KUALA LUMPUR—Malaysia will send a protest note to the Philippines over its new maritime laws due to their overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea, its deputy foreign minister said on Thursday.
The protest will follow a complaint also from China over the Philippines’ Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, which Manila said were intended to strengthen its maritime claims and bolster its territorial integrity.
Malaysia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mohamad Alamin said the government has reviewed the reference documents related to the Philippines’ laws and found that they touch upon claims to the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo Island.
“We will send a protest note today to demonstrate our commitment to defending Sabah’s sovereign rights and the sovereignty of our country,” Mohamad told parliament.
Dormant Sabah claim
The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Philippines has a dormant claim to the eastern part of Sabah dating back to colonial times, but official statements on the issue are rare. Its Supreme Court in 2011 ruled that the claim has never been relinquished.
In a June 27 diplomatic communication on the Philippines’ Partial Submission to extend its continental shelf, Malaysia’s permanent mission to the United Nations said Kuala Lumpur has never recognized the Philippines’ claim to its eastern state from which Manila projected parts of its baselines of its continental margins.
“This clearly disregards Malaysia’s indisputable sovereignty over the state of Sabah,” it said. “The state of Sabah has and always been an integral part of Malaysia and has been recognized by the United Nations and the international community, as part of Malaysia.”
The Malaysian government further appealed to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) “not to examine and qualify” the Philippines’ continental shelf claim.
China also filed a protest on June 18 against the Philippines’ continental shelf claim, asserting its sovereignty over the South China Sea. Beijing appealed to the CLCS “not to consider” the Philippines’ request to extend its continental shelf.
‘For generations to come’
On June 14 this year, the Philippines submitted its information before the UNCLCS asking the body to establish the Philippines’ extended continental shelf (ECS) in the West Philippine Sea, specifically the western Palawan region.
“The seabed and the subsoil extending from our archipelago up the maximum extent allowed by Unclos (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) hold significant potential resources that will benefit our nation and our people for generations to come,” Foreign Assistant Secretary Louis Alferez said in a statement.
Unclos defines the continental shelf as the submerged extension of a coastal state’s land territory covering the seabed and subsoil beyond its territorial sea up to the edge of its 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone. This extension grants sovereign rights over natural resources on or beneath the seabed.
