Phl asks UN to extend boundary in WPS

The Philippines has officially submitted information to the United Nations claiming and declaring the country's entitlement to an extended continental shelf (ECS) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

- Michael Punongbayan, Marc Jayson Cayabyab

Through the Philippine Mission to the UN in New York, the information was submitted before the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to register the country's entitlement to an ECS in the West Palawan Region.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) explained yesterday that under Article 76 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a coastal state such as the Philippines is entitled to establish the outer limits of its continental shelf.

This comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas extending beyond 200 nautical miles but not to exceed 350 NM from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.