Palau presented its claim to the extended continental shelf on its “North Area” along the Palau-Kyushu Ridge (PKR) on March 8 to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) at United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA.
President’s Territory and Boundary Task Force (TBTF), headed by Chairman Rebluud Kesolei, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President was joined by Ambassador to the United States of America and Dean of the Washington, D.C. Diplomatic Corps Hersey Kyota, former Ambassador to the Phillipines Ramon Rechebei, Ocean Commissioner Nick Ngwal, and PALARIS Manager David Idip.
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Palau’s general submission to the CLCS has been pending since 2009. The focus of this presentation regarding the North Area was on advanced “multi-beam” bathymetric data, which was submitted in October of 2017 and adds clarity to Palau’s North Area submission regarding the PKR. While the 2009 general submission covers Palau’s entire territory, including areas along its Southern and Southwestern borders with Indonesia and the Philippines, this presentation and its accompanying “partial amended submission” were both limited to the uncontested North Area.
Both the original 2009 submission, and the 2017 submission regarding the North Area, were produced by the team at Palau Automated Land and Resource Information System (PALARIS), within the Bureau of Budget and Planning. To produce and compile the detailed, voluminous, and highly technical data required by the UN CLCS process, PALARIS engaged the assistance of many renowned experts, in a process that has been ongoing for many years. Ultimately, this process has the potential to more firmly establish the bulk of Palau’s national maritime jurisdiction.
The presentation covered scientific and legal principles affecting Palau’s pending submission and was well-received by the CLCS. [/restrict]