President Arroyo has signed into law Republic Act 9522 or the baseline bill.

The new law defines the country's territorial waters and treats the disputed Spratlys islands and Scarborough Shoal as a "regime of islands" under the Republic of the Philippines.

Executive Eecretary Eduardo Ermita said the signing will send a message to the international community that the Philippines is affirming its national sovereignty.

Aside from the Philippines, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan are claiming the Spratlys.

Ermita also said the baseline law allowed the country to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. -- report from ANC