Practice question
A vessel is in deep water enclosed by compliant Philippine archipelagic baselines, far from the nearest coast. A foreign operator argues that the water must be high seas because it is more than twelve nautical miles from every individual island. A local official responds that sovereignty permits prohibition of every foreign passage right. Which assessment is best?
- The operator is right because deep water can never be archipelagic water.
- Both categorical claims are wrong: enclosed archipelagic waters are subject to Philippine sovereignty regardless of depth or coastal distance, but that sovereignty is exercised subject to UNCLOS Part IV.
- The official is right because no international passage regime can coexist with sovereignty.
- The water is automatically an EEZ solely because of its distance from one island.
- Neither Philippine law nor UNCLOS can classify water between islands.
Legal references
- UNCLOS, Articles 46–50, especially Article 47 (archipelagic baselines): https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part4.htm
- Magallona v. Ermita, G.R. No. 187167, August 16, 2011, main decision, maritime baselines and regime of islands: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/29267
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