Archive - South China Sea

The law establishes the country’s baselines, which were used to map out its EEZ.

Duterte’s proposition directly violates the Philippine Charter, the Fisheries Code, and the archipelagic baselines law.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is correct when he questioned recently whether China can actually claim a huge swath of the ocean – by which he meant the Chinese Nine Dash Line Claim over practically the entire South China Sea (including portions we refer to as the West Philippine Sea).

The sinking last week of Filipino-owned wooden fishing boat F/B GimVer 1 by a bigger Chinese ship in Recto Bank presents an expanding dynamic to Chinese expansionist claims over recognized Philippine maritime zones .

The Philippines has effectively occupied Pag-asa Island (international name:Thitu) since 1978 and has incorporated it as a municipality that is part of the Province of Palawan. There have been elections for the municipal officials of Pag-asa, and there will be elections there in May 2019 like in the rest of the archipelago. There are 400 voters in Pag-asa. Pag-asa has a land area of 37.2 hectares.

An online post claiming that the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China have agreed on a 60-40 profit-sharing scheme on their joint oil exploration in disputed maritime areas is misleading.

He said China could be recognizing the sovereign rights of the Philippines in the disputed waters through service contracting arrangements.

The Philippines and China have started the undertaking of joint exploration of disputed maritime areas in the South China Sea with the signing on Nov 20 the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Oil and Gas Development by Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi .

We will be watching out for the details of the agreement on the joint exploration in the Spratlys that is expected to be signed in the presence of President Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping when the latter comes to Manila on Nov. 20 and 21. If there would be any agreement on joint exploration at all.

Silent No More PH published fake news on Nov. 14, attributing a fabricated quote to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who supposedly declared the Benham Rise and the "entire eastern Philippine sea" as Chinese territory.

SINGAPORE - A Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea could be concluded in as early as three years, just about the same time that President Duterte completes his six-year term as president of the Philippines.

A netizen's online post last Oct. 28 claiming that the administration of former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III sold the Spratly Islands to China is false and misleading.