2. Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Disputes

Territories belonging to Philippines by historic right or title

The clause also includes what was referred to under the 1973 Constitution as territories “belonging to the Philippines by historic right or legal title,” that is, territories which, depending on available evidence, might belong to the Philippines (e.g., Sabah, the Marianas, Freedomland) (Bernas, Constitutional Rights and Social Demands, 8, 2010).

Under Article 3 of the UNCLOS, “every state has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from the baselines determined in accordance with this Convention.”