DIVINE Providence appears to have chosen the Philippines and its people for a leading role in the conservation and protection of the marine environment, ecosystem, and biodiversity in the central Indo-Pacific maritime region by putting it in the central and strategic position that it is in. The Philippines is an archipelago in mid-ocean, with one of the longest coastlines in the world. The country’s maritime domain is bordered by the Philippine Sea to the east and beyond toward the international seabed area in the Pacific Ocean. It is adjacent to other archipelagic states, such as Indonesia and Palau toward the south and the Papua New Guinea further south, with which it has overlapping jurisdictions and ocean connectivity at some points. It borders the South China Sea to the west and international straits to the north. The Philippines is host to the greater part of the Coral Triangle, which is the breeding and feeding grounds of important commercial fish species such as tuna. And many other fish species, for indeed the Philippine archipelago has the highest marine biodiversity in the world and by itself alone encompasses a large marine ecoregion. The Philippines is thus one of the world’s leading producers of fish.