MANILA- Veteran lawyer Estelito Mendoza on Monday launched a primer on the Philippines' maritime area, a timely piece he hopes would clarify the law of the sea amid the unresolved South China Sea dispute.

In a press conference at the House of Representatives, Mendoza, together with her client Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, launched his primer published by the University of the Philippines Law Center.

Mendoza said the primer, titled "The Ocean Space or the Maritime Area of the Philippines," highlights the country's position on the law of the sea and recognition of the Philippines as an "archipelagic state," which he attributed to Arroyo's presidency.

He said the launch was timely since there are currently "too many conversations" on maritime issues.

"There are too many conversations on the law of sea, but, evidently there is a lack of understanding on the basic principles involved.
Maybe I should highlight the Philippine position on the law of the sea," he said.

Mendoza was part of the country's delegation that negotiated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which recognized the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the disputed waters.

The former Solicitor-General, Arroyo's defense counsel in the plunder case she recently won at the Supreme Court, also raised the importance of identifying the baselines of the country's waters.

"Without the baselines you cannot project these maritime areas. You cannot claim sovereignty or jurisdiction over these maritime areas. That important achievement was achieved during the Arroyo administration," he said.

He said the definition of the country's baselines was affirmed in Republic Act 9522 signed into law in 2009, a time when China had yet to contest Manila's EEZ in the South China Sea.

The Philippines refers to this area as the West Philippine Sea.

The maritime dispute between Manila and Beijing heightened during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III due to the arbitral claim filed by the Philippines, Mendoza said.

In ruling on the Philippines' case, the United Nations arbitral tribunal invalidated China's expansive nine-dash line claim over the South China Sea. Beijing has consistently refused to recognize the ruling.

Instead, China has stepped up its reclamation and militarization activities in the waters.

Mendoza said that while Manila was winning in the arbitral court, China was winning in the South China Sea.

A turnaround in Philippine- China relations came when President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office, as the firebrand leader positioned the country as an ally of China.

Asked whether he plans to give Duterte a copy of the primer, Mendoza said it would the President's "privilege."

Mendoza also refused to advise Duterte on how to handle the maritime dispute, saying the President seemed to be "navigating the troubled waters of the China sea very well."