29/09/2025
The Real EEZ in South China Sea. 🇧🇳 🇮🇩 🇲🇾 🇵🇠🇻🇳
Follow the International Law.
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is recognized and defined by UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982).
🇵🇠The Philippines EEZ in the West Philippine Sea is recognized under UNCLOS. In 2016, the PCA tribunal ruled that China’s “Nine-Dash Line” claim had no legal basis, affirming the Philippines’ EEZ rights.
It’s an international treaty adopted in 1982 (in Montego Bay, Jamaica) and came into force in 1994.
Key Points of UNCLOS
1. Defines Maritime Zones
•Territorial Sea → up to 12 nautical miles (nm) from the baseline; full sovereignty.
•Contiguous Zone → up to 24 nm; limited control for enforcement.
•Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) → up to 200 nm; sovereign rights to natural resources.
•Continental Shelf → may extend beyond 200 nm if proven geologically.
•High Seas → areas beyond national jurisdiction; open to all states.
2. Navigation Rights
•Ensures freedom of navigation and overflight.
•Establishes rules for innocent passage in territorial seas.
3. Resource Rights
•Coastal states have rights over fishing, oil, gas, minerals, etc. in their EEZ and continental shelf.
4. Dispute Resolution
•Sets up mechanisms like the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), arbitration, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for settling disputes.
5. Environmental Protection
•Obligates states to protect and preserve the marine environment.
Importance
•Sometimes called the “constitution of the oceans.”
•Ratified by 168 parties (including most ASEAN countries, except the U.S. which recognizes it as customary law but has not ratified).
•Basis for disputes in the South China Sea / West Philippine Sea.
