Creation of Center for West Philippine Sea Studies for claims to Spratlys, Scarborough sought

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 4): Creation of Center for West Philippine Sea Studies for claims to Spratlys, Scarborough sought

Lawmakers are pushing for the creation of the Center for West Philippine Sea Studies (CWPSS), which shall focus on studying, strengthening and defending the country’s claim to the disputed Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.

Reps. Rufus B. Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City) and Maximo B. Rodriguez Jr. (Party-list, Abante Mindanao) filed House Bill No. 4158 which seeks the establishment of the CWPSS attached to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) under the Office of Special and Ocean Concerns.

Rodriguez said the West Philippine Sea, considered one of the world’s busiest sealanes, has rich fishing grounds and is believed to have vast energy reserves. It is home to a myriad of competing territorial claims, including the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoal.

“These islands are being claimed by the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan as these islands, reefs and coral outcrops are believed to be rich in oil and gas and these overlapping claims have long been feared as Asia’s next source of tension which could lead to armed conflict,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said it shall be the mandate of the Center to study the basis of the claims of the Philippines over the waters and the islands in the West Philippine Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, international law, local laws and historical data.

It shall also be the responsibility of the Center to propose actions and measures in order to defend and prosecute the country’s claims against claims of other neighboring countries as well as prepare concrete plans on how to develop and fully utilize all the natural resources in the area.

“Likewise, the Center is tasked under the measure to perform other duties and responsibilities that would strengthen our sovereignty and other claims over the area and to perform other functions as may be directed by the President of the Philippines in relation to concerns over the West Philippine Sea,” Rodriguez said.

The Center shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary of the DFA.

For the purpose of funding the creation of the Center on the West Philippine Sea Studies, the amount of P50 million not otherwise appropriated shall be initially appropriated out of the funds of the National Treasury and subsequent appropriations shall be provided by Congress in the Annual Budget of the DFA under the General Appropriations Act.

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