Related story: China sends large patrol boat to Spratly islands
by Tessa Jamandre
VERA Files
The Philippines will soon initiate border talks with its neighbors and finally confront territorial issues it has long avoided, the most contentious being the dispute with Malaysia over Sabah, now that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has signed the Philippine Archipelagic Baseline Law.
The Baseline Law defines the limits of Philippine territory. It is these limits that will determine the country’s extended continental shelf, which is believed to contain substantial amounts of oil, natural gas, minerals and polymetals.
The Philippines has less than two months to beat the May 13, 2009 deadline for the submission of its claim over the extended continental shelf before the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). The UN body, however, will not rule on a claim if it involves disputed territory.