PHILIPPINES The Philippines officially the Republic of the

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 72 nd 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 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.