MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government is looking into tapping the country’s P1-trillion “blue economy” by pushing for a bill that will establish sea lanes to protect the country’s maritime territory. “Because there is no general declaration of what territories are so you would have some encroachment being done by our neighbors,” Socioeconomic Planning Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said at a press conference Monday. Related Stories Amid sightings of Chinese warships, Carpio urges Duterte to prioritize bill establishing sea lanes“We claim that it’s an encroachment but actually we don’t have it in writing — we don’t have any document that says this is actually ours,” Edillon added. The bill seeks to designate Philippine maritime lanes and air routes where foreign vessels and aircraft can exercise the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage. “The bill has been pending in Congress for years now.

Source: Philippine Star January 20, 2020 11:48 UTC