TN/RL/GEN/196/Suppl.1  
 
11 December 2018  
(18-7839) Page: 1/2 
Negotiating Group on Rules  Original: English  
 
PROHIBITION OF SUBSI DIES IN DISPUTED WAT ERS 
Supplement  
The following communication, dated 6 December 2018, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the Philippines.  
 
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PHILIPPINE STATEMENT  ON THE SUBSIDY PROHIBITION ON IUU FISHING  AND AREAS 
WITH CONFLICTING /DISPUTED  CLAIMS OVER MARITIME  OR TERRITORIAL 
JURISDICTIONS, SECTI ONS 3.2 & 3.10 OF TN /RL/W/274/REV.6, NG RULES 
CONSULTATION ON FISH ERIES SUBSIDIES, 6 D ECEMBER 2018  
Chair, I thank you for this opportunity to elaborate our statement on Tuesday regarding the inherent 
and inseparable linkage between IUU fishing and Members ' concerns on conflicting claims over 
maritime or territorial jurisdictions in our negotiations for eliminating subsidies.  
 
The inherent and inseparable lin kage is evidently crystal clear – an IUU determination in a disputed 
water by a WTO panel to trigger a subsidy prohibition discipline would have been straightforward, 
uncomplicated, and more so less politically -charged had a WTO panel were not confronted w ith the 
case wherein the involved WTO Members were not embroiled in the territorial dispute.  
 
In view of this very compelling reason, the Philippines reiterates the need to frame NG Rules 
discussions on IUU fishing that maintains and addresses the linkage adequately from today until we 
successfully deliver a concrete outcome in MC12.  
 
That said Chair, the WTO must -- first and foremost -- not entertain revisionism or reinterpretation 
of what IUU activities are and how IUU fishing should be determined given the well -established 
public international law under the UN Charter in the field. What and where the WTO should focus on 
is to adopt a comprehensive and effective agreement prohibiting or eliminating subsidies including 
to IUU fishing based on the UN leader s' SDG Target 14.6.  
 
And, we should not lose our focus in our negotiations, which is about eliminating subsidies -- not 
about prohibiting fishing per se.  
 
Chair, the Philippines also agrees with the view that eliminating subsidies is not as politically 
sensitive issue as the WTO ruling on who has the sovereign or ownership right over a maritime or 
territorial jurisdiction being claimed by more than one WTO Member in the context of coastal state 
or RFMO determination of an IUU fishing. Indeed, the WTO is n ot the appropriate multilateral body 
that should rule on territoriality but under the UNCLOS charter.  
 
Chair, it is in the aforementioned context that the Philippines has proposed since 2017 to eliminate 
subsidies or cooperate where there are conflicting c laims or disputes between and among WTO 
Members. We are indeed delighted that our proposal is finally resurrected and revitalised, and 
without a doubt, the Philippines shall not let our proposal be marginalised once more until a positive 
resolution is secu red in MC12.  
 
Chair, Members should appreciate the benefits from our proposal, which are essentially four folds: 
(1) a WTO panel shall not rule on the territoriality but only on the mere existence of a subsidy; thus, TN/RL/GEN/196/Suppl.1  
 
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  less politically -charged and tension pr evention; (2) it promotes cooperation including joint 
conservation and management of resources instead of heightening disputes; (3) it does not modify 
and undermine the rights and obligations of every WTO Member under public international law in 
the field of IUU fishing; and (4) the advantage in fishing of resource -rich Members over financially -
challenged ones shall cease to exist in disputed waters.  
 
The Philippines however recognises that our proposal is not yet perfect; hence, we encourage 
Members to dis cuss their issues with us so that we can consider their legitimate, reasonable, and 
mandate -consistent concerns.  
 
The Philippines however would like also to highlight – with serious concern -- that the proposal to 
exclude or carve out subsidies in disputed waters from WTO fish subsidies disciplines is tantamount 
to denying the Philippines of the remedies under the UN leaders ' SDG 14.6 mandate – not only the 
need to eliminate subsidies to IUU fishing but also the prohibition of subsidies to overcapac ity and 
overfishing.  This is so because the entire EEZ and continental shelves of the Philippines -- in terms 
of catch – are virtually being claimed or at risk of being claimed by a few WTO Members as theirs or 
having sovereign rights over them.  
 
Incidenta lly, the Philippines is hardly subsidising its fishing sector and yet our seas are at the centre 
of marine biodiversity in the world, which are under serious threat of overexploitation and depletion.  
 
Finally Chair, WTO Members should therefore not allow a few WTO Members to legally evade their 
obligations or their UN Leaders ' political commitment to prohibit or eliminate subsidies that 
contribute to overfishing and overcapacity and to IUU fishing just because of their concerns on 
disputed waters.  
 
 
 
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