South China Sea: can Manila make Beijing pay US$1 million fines for trespassing?

A Philippine senator says sanctions of up to US$1 million are possible under new maritime laws, but analysts doubt they are enforceable

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Members of the Philippine Coast Guard stand alert as a Chinese Coast Guard vessel blocks their way to a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on March 5. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:30pm, 12 Nov 2024Updated: 5:38pm, 12 Nov 2024

Manila says it can now impose heavy fines on Chinese and other foreign vessels trespassing in Philippine waters, but analysts warn enforcing such penalties would be complicated by diplomatic and practical hurdles.

Senator Francis Tolentino said the Philippines could impose these significant penalties under two new maritime laws enacted by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jnr, on Friday.

“We have a provision that would even impose $1 million on violators. So that is big,” Tolentino said during a TV interview on Monday.

Tolentino explained that the power to sanction foreign vessels is derived from the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, which defines the nation’s maritime boundaries, and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, which governs the transit of foreign vessels.

Beijing earlier condemned Manila for “unlawfully” including Scarborough Shoal, as well as most of the islands and reefs of the Spratly Islands, also claimed by China, within the Philippine maritime zones as defined under the new laws.

Philippine senator Francis Tolentino. Photo: Facebook

However, Tolentino said China’s protest only signified the recognition of its loss and the Philippines’ commitment to enforcing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and the 2016 Hague Arbitral Ruling, which upheld the country’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.