The West Philippine Sea (WPS) is a contested area rich in resources, with multiple countries, including China and the Philippines, claiming parts of it. The Philippines has a historical and legal claim supported by a 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling against China's expansive claims, yet tensions continue as China asserts control. The dispute involves significant stakes for the Philippines, including vast maritime areas and strategic resources, alongside ongoing military and diplomatic confrontations.
The West Philippine Sea (WPS) is a contested area rich in resources, with multiple countries, including China and the Philippines, claiming parts of it. The Philippines has a historical and legal claim supported by a 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling against China's expansive claims, yet tensions continue as China asserts control. The dispute involves significant stakes for the Philippines, including vast maritime areas and strategic resources, alongside ongoing military and diplomatic confrontations.
The West Philippine Sea (WPS) is a contested area rich in resources, with multiple countries, including China and the Philippines, claiming parts of it. The Philippines has a historical and legal claim supported by a 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling against China's expansive claims, yet tensions continue as China asserts control. The dispute involves significant stakes for the Philippines, including vast maritime areas and strategic resources, alongside ongoing military and diplomatic confrontations.
The West Philippine Sea (WPS) is a contested area rich in resources, with multiple countries, including China and the Philippines, claiming parts of it. The Philippines has a historical and legal claim supported by a 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling against China's expansive claims, yet tensions continue as China asserts control. The dispute involves significant stakes for the Philippines, including vast maritime areas and strategic resources, alongside ongoing military and diplomatic confrontations.
Me!!! Activity 5.1 West Philippine Sea Dispute Introduction The West Philippine Sea (WPS) is a part of the larger South China Sea, which is a region rich in natural resources and a crucial shipping route. This area has become a focal point of territorial disputes, with several countries, including China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei, laying claim to various parts of it. The Philippines has a historical and legal claim to the WPS, based on maps, documents, and international law. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines, rejecting China’s expansive claims over the region. Despite this, China continues to assert its control, leading to ongoing tensions and confrontations at sea. The dispute is not only about territorial sovereignty but also concerns the region’s strategic importance and valuable resources. What is at Stake for the Philippines? 1. 80% of the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ) compromising 381,000 square kilometers of maritime space,
2. 100% of the Philippines’ Extended Cpntinental
Shelf(ECS), estimated at over 150,000 square kilometers of maritime space,
Aggregating a huge maritime area of over 531,000
square kilometers, larger than the total area of the philippines of 300,000 square kilometers, either the Philippines keeps this huge maritime space or lose it to China. China’s 9-Dashed Lines
China’s 9-dashed lines claim encloses 85.7% of
the entire South China Sea. This is equivalent to 3 million square kilometers surface area of the South China Sea.
9-dashed line submitted by China to United
Nations on May 7, 2009.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and
Indonesia protested China’s claim under this 9-dashed lines map. Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea
https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/territorial-disputes-south-china-sea? fbclid=IwY2xjawH91KNleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHcE1ZSRTdJzJj6H7ckB9Yc_mAHZCIfKXxJn9OYqc_CmUnQ2nlL_gVp3dqQ_aem_8u_mWXRhuz14JiBdaH0hLA China’s broad claims over the South China Sea, including its estimated 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, have led to tensions with other claimants like Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Since the 1970s, countries have laid claim to resource-rich areas like the Spratly Islands. Diplomatic failures in resolving these disputes could threaten international maritime laws and lead to military buildups.
China asserts that foreign militaries cannot conduct
intelligence activities in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), while the United States maintains that under the UNCLOS, countries should have freedom of navigation. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines in a case against China, but China rejected the ruling. China has also increasingly expanded its territorial presence by land reclamation in the Spratly and Paracel Islands, building military structures like ports, airstrips, and radar systems. It has militarized Woody Island with fighter jets, missiles, and radar. Philippines protests China’s deployment of ‘monster ship’ in maritime zone The Philippines has said China’s deployment of its largest coastguard vessel inside Manila’s exclusive maritime economic zone (EEZ) is alarming and clearly intended to intimidate fishermen operating around a shoal in the contested waters of the South China Sea.
Philippines National Security Council
spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said on Tuesday that Manila has lodged a protest over the presence of the 165-metre (541ft) long Chinese coastguard vessel 5901, which was spotted 77 nautical miles (142km) off the coast of Zambales province, and demanded its withdrawal from the EEZ. Deliberate, Not Desperate: The Philippines' National Security Strategy On The West Philippine Sea The Philippines brought China to arbitration under UNCLOS in 2013 over the South China Sea dispute, securing a legal advantage as China refused to participate. A five-judge tribunal was formed, favoring impartiality, and the Philippines rallied international support to pressure China. In 2016, the tribunal ruled against China's expansive "nine-dash line" claims, affirming the Philippines’ maritime rights. While enforcement remains challenging, the case highlights how smaller nations can use law and diplomacy to counter major powers, promoting international rule-based order and regional stability. Sources:
Deliberate, Not Desperate: The
Philippines' National Security Strategy On The West Philippine Sea Thank you
