Free Territory of Freedomland

The Free Territory of Freedomland was a micronation which covered the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. It was established by Tomás Cloma.

History

In January 1935, the Committee of Reviewing Water and Land Maps of China (ROC), which is now Taiwan, published both Chinese names and English names of 132 insular features in the South China Sea.

In April 1935, the Committee of Reviewing Water and Land Maps of China, published a map with locations of features in the South China Sea.

In 1947, it was reported that Tomás Cloma "discovered" a certain island in the Spratlys

In 1950, Philippine President Elpidio Quirino said that "as long as China (ROC) held the Spratlys, the Philippines would not press its own claim".

On May 11, 1956, Tomas Cloma Sr. together with 40 men, took formal possession of the islands, lying some  west of the southern end of Palawan and named them Freedomland.

On May 15, 1956, Cloma issued and posted copies of his "Notice to the Whole World" on each of the islands as a manifestation of unwavering claims over the territory.

On May 31, 1956, Cloma declared the establishment of the Free Territory of Freedomland, ten days later he sent his second representation to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs informing the latter that the territory claimed was named Freedomland.

In late June 1956, Cloma stole Taiwan's national flag from Taiping Island.

On July 6, 1956, Cloma declared to the world his claim and establishment of a separate government with its capital on Flat Island (also known as Patag Island).

On July 7, 1956, after Taiwan protested, Cloma surrendered the flag he stole to the Chinese embassy in Manila and apologized officially.

On October 2, 1956, he wrote a letter and ensured he would not make further training voyages or landings in the territorial waters of Taiwan.

In 1972, Cloma was jailed by Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos for four months for "impersonating a military officer by being called an "admiral". In August 1974, Cloma changed the name of the country from Freedomland to Colonia.  At that same time, he retired as titular head of state in favor of John de Mariveles.

In December 1974, Cloma was arrested and forced to sign a document to convey to the Philippines whatever rights he might have had in the territory for one peso. There are Philippine claims that they acquired the territory through that document.

However the fact is that, from August 1974, Cloma no longer had any territorial or sovereign rights to convey.

In 1978, the Philippine president Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 1596 to include the majority of the Spratly Islands as being Philippine territory.

Tomás Cloma
Tomás Arbolente Cloma Sr. (born Tomás Cloma y Arbolente; 18 September 1904 – 18 September 1996) was the leader and founder of Freedomland. He was a Filipino lawyer and businessman from the province of Bohol. Cloma was born in Panglao to Ciriaco Cloma y Arbotante, a Spanish immigrant, and Irenea Arbolente y Bongay, a native of Panglao, Bohol. He was the owner of a fishing fleet, and owner of a private maritime training institute, the PMI Colleges (formerly known as Philippine Maritime Institute). He was aspired to open a cannery and develop guano deposits in the Spratlys. It was principally for economic reasons, therefore, that he "discovered" and claimed islands in the Spratlys.

Relevance for the Philippines
Cloma introduced a distinction between his Freedomland and the Spratlys further west. This distinction later became part of the Philippines' foreign policy. This distinction was never fully clarified. It seems that Freedomland encompasses most of what others call the Spratly Islands, but not Spratly Island itself, nor the banks and reefs lying to the west of it.

Cloma's declaration was met with hostile reactions from several neighboring countries, especially Taiwan. On September 24, 1956, Taiwan reoccupied nearby Itu Aba Island (also known as Taiping Island), which it had left in 1950, and intercepted Cloma’s men and vessels found within its immediate waters. The People's Republic of China also restated its own claim afterward.

In 2014 The Philippines sought adjudication of a territorial dispute with China at the International Court of Arbitration. In its pleadings, the Philippines abandoned efforts to assert succession to the Cloma Claim, and instead asserted a 200-mile territorial claim under EEZ Law of the Sea.  As a consequence, Colonia became the only successor claimant to the Cloma territory.

The Free Territory of Freedomland should not be confused with the Principality of Freedomland or the Republic of Koneuwe which was set up by a French swindler also in the Spratlys but not on the same islands.

Notes

References

Category:History of the Spratly Islands
Category:Micronations