Philippines, Indonesia draw boundaries in Mindanao, Celebes Seas

MANILA, Philippines - After 20 years, the Philippines and Indonesia completed on Sunday negotiations in solving the countries' overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZ) at the eighth Meeting of the Joint Permanent Working Group on Maritime and Ocean Concerns (JPWG-MOC) in Jakarta, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

DFA Undersecretary for Policy Evan Garcia and Wiwiek Setyawati Firman, acting director general for legal affairs and international treaties in the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed the deal titled “Agreement between the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of Indonesia Concerning the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone Boundary.”

The Philippines and Indonesia have overlapping territories in the Mindanao and Celebes Seas.

“The conclusion of the negotiations attests to the friendship, patience, goodwill and commitment of the governments of the Philippines and Indonesia to peacefully address maritime issues. This is a significant contribution to, and an example of,  reasonable efforts to build a stable and peaceful regional community, in consideration of the interests of countries concerned and in accordance with international law,” Garcia said.

The charts illustrating the EEZ Boundary were signed for the Philippines Dr. Peter N. Tiangco, administrator, National Mapping and Resources Information Authority (NAMRIA) and Capt. Jacinto Cablayan, Director, Hydrography Branch, NAMRIA, and for Indonesia by Asep Karsidi, head of the Indonesian Geospatial Information Agency and Cdr. Dede Yuliadi, chief hydrographer of the Hydro-Oceanographic Office of the Indonesian Navy.

The Philippines and Indonesia started the negotiations for the delimitation of overlapping EEZs in June 1994 with the establishment of the JPWG-MOC.