Solicitor General Menardo Gueverra on Monday said foreign countries will be obliged to comply with Philippine laws governing its territorial waters once the proposed maritime zones bill becomes law.
"This will be our domestic version of an international agreement and these are the laws of the coastal state. Therefore, all flag states with vessel plying, for example, our maritime waters, would also have a duty to comply with the laws enacted by the coastal state like the Philippines," Gueverra told the Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones.
The Philippine Maritime Zones Act, or House Bill 7819, was proposed amid heightened tensions between Manila and Beijing due to the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea. Over the weekend, authorities reported that Chinese ships collided with Philippine military-contracted civilian boats on a resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal.
"We will definitely recommend to the DFA to call on China to respect or to rather comply with its obligations in international law to settle disputes peacefully,” Guevarra said.