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VARIAS, JESSICA MARIE P.

202010240
One Page Essay
HOW DID THE PHILIPPINES ACQUIRED ITS TERRITORY?

Our country Philippines have faced a lot of struggle before we became an independent nation and
a sovereign state, and to attain the independence and sovereignty that we have dream for, many Filipinos
have fought for our rights against other countries. One of the major qualifications to be called “state” is to
have a territory or where the people of the state lives in, and Philippines as a sovereign state, undergo in
many agreements or treaties to acquired our very own territory.

Philippines have acquired its current territorial boundaries by what it is called the “Philippine
Treaty Limits” and it argues that the line described in accordance with it constitute the territorial limits of
the Philippine Archipelago. Philippine Treaty Limits has its three treaties basis which are the Treaty of
Paris (Spain and United States, December 10, 1898), The Treaty of Washington (U.S and Spain,
November 7 1900) and the Treaty concluded between the United States and Great Britain on January 2
1930. (Bautista, 2008).

While the Philippines acquiring its territory, there was no protest to the ratification of the Treaty
of Paris with respect to the exercise of sovereignty by the United States over all the land and sea territory
embraced in that Treaty. In 1949, there was also no protest when U.S granted independence to the
Philippines which duly exercised sovereignty and jurisdiction over the same territory, and the Philippines’
claim over its entire maritime and territorial domain arising from the colonial treaties have been open and
public; as well as continues and peaceful, and was exercised for a considerable length of time, and it
already gives due notice of its claims to the world in early 1955 and not been protested by any state.

And with that, Philippines can also raise the argument of prescription and those facts becomes
the basis to acquired its territorial titled and has been inspected in international law and is enshrined in the
maxim quieta non movere.

Territory is truly a treasure in any state. It is like the biggest puzzle piece to create and establish a
state where people make a living, and Philippines, fought for it throughout its history. Until now, the state
together with its people and government are protecting its sovereignty rights to maintain their peace and
independence.

Reference/s:
Bautista, L. B. (2008). The Historical Context and Legal Basis of the Philippine Treaty Limits. Asian-Pacific Law
and Policy Journal, 10, 1-31.