PHILIPPINES

The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an island

nation located in the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia. The Philippines
named after King Philip II of Spain, is the 72nd largest country by area and
the third largest English speaking country in the world.

The Philippines lies between 116 40 and 126 34 E longitude and 4 40

and 21 10 North latitude. It is composed of 7,107 islands and has a total
land area of approximately 300,000 square kilometers including about
298,000 square kilometers of land and about 2,000 square kilometers of
water. It stretches about 1,850 kilometers surrounded by the Philippine Sea
on the east, the South China Sea at the west and the Celebes Sea on the
south. Its nearby neighbors are Taiwan to the north, Malaysia and Indonesia
to the south, Vietnam to the west, China to the northwest and Palau is to the
east beyond the Philippine Sea.

ARTICLE I
NATIONAL TERRITORY
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.

Other 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.