Republic of the Philippines

Northwest Samar State University

Rueda St., Calbayog City 6710
Website: http//www.nwssu.edu.ph
Email: main@nwssu.edu.ph
Telefax: (055) 2093657
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ARCHIPELAGIC
DOCTRINE

Submitted by:

Rudylyn D. Aquino

BSED – ENGLISH 1

Submitted to:

Mr. Galo Pitogo

GE 2 Instructor

The “Archipelagic Doctrine” is a legal principle wherein an archipelago is to be regarded as a

single unit, such that the waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago,
irrespective of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of an archipelagic state,
and are subject to its exclusive sovereignty. This is reflected in Part IV of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and enshrined in Article I of the Philippine Constitution.
 Gaining acceptance of this principle as a doctrine of international law was a struggle that took
decades, with the Philippines leading the charge, in order to preserve the territorial integrity of the
Philippine archipelago through the inseparable unity of the land and water domain. Without the
archipelagic doctrine, each island of the country would only have its own territorial sea and
corresponding maritime zones, with the effect of allowing the waters beyond the territorial sea to
become international waters thus dismembering parts of the Philippines from each other due to the
breadth of the waters interweaving our islands.

The battle was fought by some of the best and the brightest of the Philippine foreign service,
luminaries who are featured in this online exhibit, which shows that through the diplomatic efforts of
the Philippines and other archipelagic states such as Indonesia, Fiji and Mauritius, the archipelagic
doctrine overcame challenges and has earned its legal and international recognition in the UNCLOS.

Historical Context

During the First and Second Conferences of the United Nations on the Law of the Sea in 1958
and 1960, representatives of the Philippines and Indonesia, supported by a number of jurists, made of
record their official proposal for recognition that an archipelagic State is composed of groups of islands,
with the waters within the baselines as internal waters. Maritime states, however, resisted said claims
as a threat to the mobility of their commercial, fishing and war vessels.
 Long before the 1958 United Nations Conference, the archipelagic principle had already been
considered by a number of international institutions. There were suggestions that islands forming a
State should be considered as a single unit. However, no final agreement was made on the issue. In
effect, an archipelagic State does not exist in international law.

Philippine Policy Imperatives

Why was it crucial for the Philippines to be recognized as an archipelagic State?

The Philippines is composed of more than 7,000 islands of different sizes and configurations,
connected by straits, seas and other bodies of water of various breadth.

Before the adoption of UNCLOS, it was universally accepted that States shall have a belt of
territorial sea, with a breadth of 3 nautical miles. This was also known as the “cannon-shot rule”; the
extent to which a State could control its coastal waters was largely based on the reach of its cannons on
the shore.

However, if this rule was adopted in the Law of the Sea Convention, the Philippines will have
pockets of high seas between its islands, essentially breaking apart the archipelago into composite
islands.

In the words of Senator Arturo Tolentino:

“An archipelago must be basically considered as an integral geographical entity, strengthened by

political and economic unity, and, in some cases, sustained through the years by historical continuity,
from which it derives its identity. Thus, an archipelago may have some or all of these factors but the
fundamental consideration is that they must have always been identified as one state and one nation.
Otherwise, the archipelago may be splintered into as many islands as compose it, with the consequent
fragmentation of the nation and the state itself.

It is because of this basic desire for unity that there should be international recognition of the
right of archipelagic States to draw straight baselines connecting the outermost islands and drying reefs
of the archipelago from which the extent of the territorial sea of the archipelagic State is or may be
determined; and within which baselines, the waters, which are archipelagic waters, regardless of their
depth or distance from the coast, the seabed and subsoil thereof, and the superjacent airspace as well
as their resources, belong to and are subject to the sovereignty and exclusive jurisdiction of the
archipelagic State.”
Quiz

1. It is a legal principle wherein an archipelago is to be regarded as a single unit, such that the
waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, irrespective of their
breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of an archipelagic state, and are
subject to its exclusive sovereignty.
A. Exclusive Economic Zones
B. Territorial Sea
C. Archipelagic Doctrine
2. How many islands are there in the Philippines?
A. 5,000 plus
B. 6,000 plus
C. 7,000 plus
3. It must be basically considered as an integral geographical entity, strengthened by political and
economic unity, and, in some cases, sustained through the years by historical continuity, from
which it derives its identity.
A. Sea
B. Law of Sea
C. Archipelago
4. Before the adoption of UNCLOS, it was universally accepted that States shall have a belt of
territorial sea, with a breadth of 3 nautical miles. This was also known as the
A. Cannon-shot rule
B. Archipelagic Doctrine
C. Doctrine of Sea
5. Where can Archipelagic be reflected?
A. Part IV of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and enshrined
in Article I of the Philippine Constitution.
B. Part V of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and enshrined
in Article I of the Philippine Constitution.
C. Part VI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and enshrined
in Article I of the Philippine Constitution.

ANSWERS KEY:

1. C
2. C
3. C
4. A
5. A