The Philippine Archipelago and Terrestrial Domain Quiz

Territorial Domain of the Philippines

• The Philippine archipelago is a body of water studded with islands, as defined by the Treaty of Paris, modified by the Treaty of Washington and the Treaty with Great Britain.
• Terrestrial Domain includes all land masses within the islands of the entire archipelago, such as plains, rice fields, mountain ranges, plateaus, and islands.

Fluvial Domain

• Fluvial Domain includes all water bodies and maritime territories of the Philippines.
• Internal or National Water is defined by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the area on the landward side of the baselines of the territorial sea.
• Internal waters include rivers, lakes, canals, bays, gulfs, and straits, where foreign vessels have no right of passage.

Territorial Sea/Waters

• The Territorial Sea extends 12 nautical miles from the low water mark and is part of the national territory of the Philippines.
• Innocent Passage is defined as passing through waters in an expeditious and continuous manner.

Archipelagic Waters

• A baseline is drawn between the outermost points of the outermost islands, and all waters inside this baseline are considered archipelagic waters and part of the state's internal waters.

Contiguous Zone

• The Contiguous Zone extends 12 nautical miles beyond the territorial sea baseline, where the state can enforce laws regarding activities such as smuggling or illegal immigration.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

• The EEZ extends 200 nautical miles from the baseline, where the coastal nation has sole exploitation rights over all natural resources.
• The coastal state cannot enforce its jurisdiction over the EEZ.

Continental Shelf

• The continental shelf is defined as the natural prolongation of the land territory to the continental margin's outer edge, or 200 nautical miles from the coastal state's baseline, whichever is greater.

Aerial Domain

• The aerial domain refers to the air space above the territorial lands and waters of the Philippines, excluding outer space.
• The constitutional provision on aerial domain is an affirmation of the generally accepted principle of international law found in the International Convention of Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention).

Outer Space

• Outer space is beyond the territorial sphere of a state, and an orbiting satellite owned by a state does not offend the territorial integrity of another state.

Dispute Territories

• Palmas or Miangas Island is a disputed territory between the Philippines and the Netherlands, with the dispute resolved through arbitration in 1925.
• The Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal are also disputed territories.
• Sabah is a disputed territory between the Philippines and Malaysia.