Article 1 – National Territory

and the Philippine claim for Spratly Islands

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 water around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.

Areas included in the Philippine archipelago. The Philippine territory consists of its terrestrial,

fluvial, aerial domains. Included in its fluvial domains, in addition to the external waters, are:

1.The territorial sea- It is the part of the sea extending 12 nautical miles (19 kms) from the low-watermark. It is also- called the “marginal sea,” the “marginal belt,” or the “marine belt.”

2.The seabed ( or sea floor or bottom sea)- This refers to the land that holds the sea, lying beyond the seashore, including mineral and natural resources;

3. The sub-soil- This refers to everything beneath the surface soil and the seabed, including mineral and natural resources;

4. Insular shelves ( or continental shelves) – They are the submerged portions of the continent or offshore island, which slope gently seaward from the low waterline to a point where a substantial break in grade occurs, at which point the bottom slopes seaward at a considerable increase in slope until the great ocean depths are reached;

5. Other submarine areas-They refer to all areas under the territorial sea. Among oceanographic terms used are seamount, trough, trench, basin, deep, bank,shoal, and reef.

The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim.The Islands are located in the Southeastern Asian group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines.