MANILA, May 28 -- The early ratification of a United Nations treaty that aims to protect the high seas would politically boost the Philippines' position regionally and globally, France's envoy and international organization High Seas Alliance (HAS) said Wednesday.

In a high-level legislative forum in Pasay City, French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel expressed hope that Manila would be among the first 60 states to ratify the landmark Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, also known as the UN High Seas Treaty.

"I'm sure that the Philippines will ratify, it's just a question of time," she told reporters.

"But indeed, if we reach 60 ratifications without you in Nice, France, and the treaty will enter int...