Section 4Sec./Art. 4

Waters Inside the Baselines of the Philippines. - Consistent with the Constitution, the Philippines has sovereignty over all waters inside its archipelagic baselines as established by Republic Act No. 9522, as well as the waters on the landward side of the baselines of all Philippine territories located outside of the archipelagic baselines, including the airspace above those waters and the seabed and subsoil underneath.

The exercise of sovereignty by the Philippines over these waters is subject to its international obligations as provided in the UNCLOS and other relevant treaties to which the Philippines is a Party.

In harmony with these international obligations, the sovereign waters of the Philippines inside its baselines shall be treated as follows:

(a) The waters inside the archipelagic baselines of the Philippines are considered archipelagic water, except for bays, estuaries and other waters considered as internal waters, as delimited from archipelagic waters in accordance with Article 50 of the UNCLOS.

The archipelagic sea lanes passage in these archipelagic waters shall be exercised in the sea lanes to be determined by law or a Presidential issuance, as appropriate.

The delimitation between archipelagic waters and internal waters shall be made by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) and marked on the official charts of the Philippines. The archipelagic sea lanes shall also be marked on these charts. The charts shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in accordance with Articles 16 and 53 of the UNCLOS.

(b) The internal waters of the Philippines comprise the waters delimited by NAMRIA from archipelagic waters and the waters on the landward side of the baselines of Philippine territories located outside of the archipelagic baselines.

Foreign vessels have no navigational rights in the internal waters of the Philippines, unless expressly authorized by the Philippine Government.