Philippines Reaffirms Its Commitment to Ratify BBNJ Agreement, Promote Effective Implementation

DFA Maritime and Ocean Affairs Assistant Secretary Louis Alferez speaking at the BBNJ side event.

BUSAN 15 May 2025 – The Philippines reiterated its commitment to ratify the Agreement on the Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) and promote its effective implementation once it enters into force.

This Philippine advocacy for the BBNJ Agreement, also commonly referred to as the High Seas Treaty, was articulated by Maritime and Ocean Affairs Assistant Secretary Louis Alferez of the Department of Foreign Affairs during a high-level side event at the 10th Our Ocean Conference at the BEXCO Convention Hall in Busan, South Korea on 29 April 2025.

The side event, titled “From Busan to Nice: Accelerating Ambition in the Race for Ratification of the High Seas Treaty”, was organized by the international organization High Seas Alliance (HAS) and co-sponsored by Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, EU, France, and Maldives and the Philippines. Several other countries were present at the activity, which aimed to build momentum among signatory States towards achieving the first 60 ratifications of the BBNJ Agreement by June 2025 at the 3rd UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France. Participants also highlighted their respective domestic initiatives to promote the agreement’s prompt and effective implementation.

Speaking at the event, Assistant Secretary Alferez underscored the Philippines’ commitment to “the early ratification, entry into force, and effective implementation of the BBNJ Agreement, in line with our obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.”  He described the country’s heritage and culture as being “bound to the ocean” and how the nation’s destiny “lies in a healthy and safe ocean.”  Assistant Secretary Alferez also expressed optimism that the Philippines will be able to participate in the first Conference of Parties (COP) of the BBNJ Agreement, which will be convened when at least 60 countries have submitted instruments of ratification.

The Philippines was among the first signatories of the BBNJ Agreement in 2023 and has since ratified the international convention. The agreement is currently undergoing the concurrence process of the Philippine Senate, in accordance with the 1987 Philippine Constitution, after which the country’s instrument of ratification can already be deposited with the UN.

The Philippines has strongly advocated the effective and early implementation of the BBNJ Agreement. It has actively participated in the preparatory meetings for the first COP, including the Preparatory Committee Organizational Meeting in New York in June 2024 and the First Preparatory Commission in New York in March 2025. The Philippines has called for the promotion of the principles of flexibility, transparency and inclusivity through genuine participation in the COP, especially of least developed countries and small island developing states.

The BBNJ Agreement is a legally binding document that would provide for effective mechanisms for establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) or a global coordination mechanism to assess the environmental impacts of activities like deep seabed mining and marine scientific research, in the High Seas. It is the third implementing agreement of the 1982 UNCLOS.

Since its inception in 2011, the HSA has been working towards the protection of the high seas, which is considered the most biologically diverse and important but least protected and most critically threatened ecosystems in the world. HSA has emphasized the leadership roles of Asian countries in the BBNJ Agreement, particularly noting how the Philippines has “always been active in the negotiation of the Treaty and a champion of conservation in the region.” END