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The Importance of the South China Sea Additional Information

●​ The South China Sea is also rich in
The South China Sea is one of the most methane hydrates, a mineral found
important international waterways in the on the seafloor that can be
world, with about $5.3 trillion in ship-borne extracted to produce natural gas,
goods passing through it every year with estimated reserves exceeding
the combined reserves of oil and
The South China Sea is a critical route for gas in the world.
maritime trade, with four leading exporting
countries - China, Japan, South Korea, and ●​ China has estimated that the
Taiwan - relying on it for their trade methane hydrates in the South
●​ A significant percentage of the China Sea could power its economy
petroleum imports of these for at least 100 years and is
countries pass through the currently testing a pilot area for
narrow Strait of Malacca, with 65% extracting these resources
of South Korea's, 60% of Japan's,
and 50% of China's petroleum
imports passing through this The South China Sea is dotted with
route hundreds of small rocks and islands, some
of which are considered "land" or "territory"
Additional Information if they are above water at high tide, and are
●​ Before 2015, 80% of China's entitled to a territorial sea of 12 nautical
petroleum imports passed through miles
the Strait of Malacca, but China has
since built two pipelines from Additional Information
Myanmar to Yunnan Province, ●​ The importance of the South China
reducing its reliance on the Strait to Sea extends beyond the region,
50% with about $1 trillion in US inbound
and outbound trade and another $1
trillion in European Union inbound
Resources and Disputes in the South China
Sea and outbound trade passing
through the area every year
●​ The surface area of the West
The South China Sea is rich in fishery Philippine Sea is approximately
resources, with about 12% of the world's 155,000 hectares, which is more
total annual fish catch coming from the than twice the land area of Metro
area, due in part to the presence of the Manila and Singapore
Spratly Islands, where fish spawn and lay
their eggs.
A tiny rock in the South China Sea can be
very valuable as it can have a 12 nautical
mile territorial sea around it, giving the

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owner rights to the fish, oil, gas, and mineral China's claim to the South China Sea is
resources within that area based on the nine-dash line map, which
was submitted to the United Nations in
2009, but the Philippines and other
countries have objected to this claim.
Additional Information
●​ Even if a rock is submerged at high
tide, it can still be considered Additional Information
valuable in the proceedings of The ●​ The nine-dash line map was
Hague, as seen in the case of created by China in 1947 but was
Pagasa, the largest island in the only distributed within China and
Spratly Islands. did not bind the world until it was
submitted to the UN in 2009.
Pagasa has a territorial sea of 12 nautical
miles around it, but the presence of a low ●​ China does not own the waters
tide rock in the area can extend the within the nine dash line, and
territorial sea beyond 12 nautical miles from several countries, including
the coastline of Pagasa. Indonesia and Vietnam, have
protested against it.

Additional Information
●​ The tribunal upheld the use of the In 2013, China published a new map, known
low tide rock as a baseline to as the vertical map, which added a 10th
measure the territorial sea, which dash on the eastern side of Taiwan, and the
resulted in Subi Reef being part of map treats the waters within the ten dashes
the territorial sea of Pagasa. as China's national boundary.

China's Expansion in the South China Sea

China's Claim and the Nine-Dash Line

China's claim to the South China Sea is not

China did not participate in the proceedings supported by history, as before World War II,
of The Hague but submitted a position the southernmost territory of China was
paper claiming ownership of the South Hainan, and no Chinese sailor or soldier was
China Sea based on a historical narrative stationed in the South China Sea.
that dates back 2,000 years.
Additional Information
Additional Information ●​ After World War II, China made its
●​ China's historical narrative claims move in 1946 by seizing half of the
that they were the first country to Paracels and Itu Aba, a submarine
discover, name, explore, and exploit base built by Japan, from the
the resources of the South China French and Japanese forces..
Sea, but this narrative is considered
false.
In 1974, China seized the other half of the
Paracels from the South Vietnamese

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government, and in 1987, China put up a territorial sea and exclusive

radar weather station on Fiery Cross Reef, economic zone.
which is now an air naval base.

China has continued to expand its presence

in the South China Sea, seizing Subi Reef
from the Philippines in 1988, Johnson South The 9-dash line constitutes China's national
Reef from Vietnam in 1988, Mischief Reef boundary, and Chinese territory is just 64
kilometers away from Balabak Island, 70
from the Philippines in 1995, Scarborough kilometers away from Buli in Pangasinan,
Shoal from the Philippines in 2012, and and 44 kilometers away from Mavulis Island
Luconia Shoals from Malaysia in 2013. in the Botanist.

China has also started building air naval Additional Information

bases on its seven geological features in the ●​ This historical narrative has been
Spratlys, creating artificial islands through taught to every Chinese citizen, and
land reclamation. when President Xi Jinping visited
the Philippines in 2018,
In 2017, China seized Sandy Cay from the Ambassador Zhao wrote an opinion
Philippines by surrounding it. piece stating that China and the
Philippines have been "close
China has been expanding its territory in neighbors for centuries.”
the South China Sea through a "creeping
expansion" from 1946 to 2017, seizing control
President Xi Jinping also published an
of Scarborough Shoal from the Philippines
opinion piece during his visit, stating that
by surrounding it with its maritime militia
Chinese navigator Jiang Hai made multiple
vessels, coast guard vessels, and maritime
visits to Manila, Visaya, and Sulu over 600
vessels.
years ago, implying that China has a
historical presence in the Philippines
The Duterte administration has been in
denial about the loss of Sand Cay, also
The Duterte administration did not contest
known as Panganiban Reef, to China, which
or object to these statements, which subtly
is just two nautical miles from Pagasa, the
convey the message that the Philippines
largest island in the Spratlys.
and China have a long history of close
relations
Additional Information
●​ In 2016, Chinese Foreign Minister The Philippines will be celebrating the
Wang Yi stated in the Philippine 500-year anniversary of Magellan's arrival
Star and in the Manila Bulletin that and the introduction of Christianity in 2021,
China and the Philippines are "very but President Z claims that the Chinese
close neighbors separated by just a were in the Philippines 600 years ago, 100
narrow body of water," implying years before the Spanish arrived
that China owns all the waters to
the west of the 9-dash line, leaving
Additional Information
the Philippines with a small

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●​ The Chinese claim that they were refers to a place in central Vietnam,
the first to discover the Philippines, not the Philippines
and therefore, the islands belong to
them, but they will not recover A Chinese scholar from the People's
Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, only Republic of China's Naval Hydrographic
keeping the Spratly Islands. Institute wrote an article in 1988 tracing the
route of Zheng He's voyages, which did not
include the Philippines.
Debunking the Myth of Zheng He's Visit to
the Philippines Additional Information
●​ National Geographic Magazine
However, this narrative is false, as Admiral published an article in 2018 on the
Zheng He (also known as Jenga) never seven voyages of Zheng He, which
visited the Philippines. included a chart of his route that
did not include the Philippines.
Additional Information
●​ The Singapore Zheng He The Philippines is located near the narrow
International Society published a Strait of Malacca, and it is noted that Zheng
book in 2005, which included an He never visited the Philippines, a fact
article by Professor Shu stating that agreed upon by scholars worldwide
Zheng He never visited the
Philippines The Itu Aba Issue and Exclusive Economic
Zones
The word "Chan cheng" was actually a Ming
dynasty name for a Malay state in The largest island in the Spratlys is Itu Aba,
Indochina, not Luzon, as previously thought which is occupied by Taiwan and has a total
area of about 45 hectares, compared to
The Cham people were descended from the Pagasa which is 36 hectares.
Austronesians, just like Filipinos, and spoke
a language derived from the Austronesian Additional Information
language. ●​ The issue in the arbitration is
whether Itu Aba is capable of
Additional Information human habitation on its own,
●​ The Cham Kingdom, a powerful which would entitle it to a 12
maritime kingdom in central nautical mile territorial sea and an
Vietnam, was established before extended continental shelf up to
the arrival of Europeans in the 200 nautical miles.
South China Sea, and the South
China Sea was initially called the ●​ If Itu Aba is not capable of human
"Cham Sea." habitation on its own, then none of
●​ Admiral Zheng He actually visited the islands in the Spratlys would be
central Vietnam, and "Chanchang" capable of human habitation, and

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they would only be entitled to a 12 ●​ China claims that Scarborough

nautical mile territorial sea. Shoal is capable of human
habitation and is entitled to a 200
China has declared that Itu Aba is capable nautical mile exclusive economic
of generating a 200 nautical mile Exclusive zone, but this claim was disputed
Economic Zone (EEZ), which would overlap and the tribunal agreed that
with the EEZ of Palawan. Scarborough Shoal is just a rock,
entitled to a 12 nautical mile
territorial sea.

Additional Information According to the UN Convention on the Law

●​ The tribunal's ruling stated that to of the Sea (UNCLOS), a coastal state can
determine whether an island is claim up to 12 nautical miles territorial sea,
capable of human habitation, its 188 nautical miles exclusive economic zone,
natural condition must be and an additional 150 nautical miles, for a
considered, and Itu Aba's natural total of 350 nautical miles from the
condition is a borderline case of coastline.
whether it can support a stable
community of people. Additional Information
●​ China's claim to waters within the
The tribunal also considered the historical nine-dash line beyond 350 nautical
presence of people on Itu Aba, but there is miles has no legal basis, as ruled by
no record of human habitation, leading to the tribunal.
the conclusion that it is probably not
capable of human habitation on its own.. Every coastal state can claim only up to 350
nautical miles, consisting of 12 nautical
Additional Information miles territorial sea, 188 nautical miles
●​ The ruling was that Itu Aba is not exclusive economic zone, and an additional
capable of human habitation on its 150 nautical miles measured from the edge
own and therefore has no EEZ, only of the exclusive economic zone.
a territorial sea, which gave the
tribunal jurisdiction over the case. Enforcing the Ruling and the Historical
Narrative

Scarborough Shoal and the UNCLOS

The Philippines was confident that the
tribunal would uphold its position that the
Scarborough Shoal is a high tide elevation, nine-dash line has no legal basis, but the
above water at high tide, and is considered problem was how to enforce the ruling
land or territory.
Additional Information
Additional Information

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●​ The Chinese government would the artist who drew the map was
not comply with the ruling due to Francisco Suarez, also a Filipino.
the historical narrative that the
Chinese people have been taught, ●​ The map is important because it
which claims that they own the has a cartouche, the royal coat
South China Sea. of arms of the King of Spain,
●​ The tribunal was asked to rule on which means it is an official map
whether China's historical narrative of the Spanish kingdom
is true or false, and whether there is showing Philippine territory in
a factual basis for this narrative. 1734.
●​ To convince the tribunal that China ●​ The map was commissioned by
never had historic rights, over 170 King Philip the Fifth of Spain in
ancient maps were presented, 1732, and it determines Philippine
including maps of the Chinese territory even up to today.
dynasties, Philippine maps, and ●​ The map shows Scarborough
European maps of Asia. Shoal with the name of Panacot
and the Spratlys with the name
The 1734 Murillo Velarde map was of Los Bajos de Paragua.
presented as the most important map of
the Philippines, which is the first map to
give a name to Scarborough Shoal, calling it Ancient Maps and China's Historical
"Panakot", a Tagalog word meaning Territory
"danger."
Ancient maps of China, published in the
The Philippines was the first to give a name
Atlas of Ancient Maps in China, show that
to Scarborough Shoal, with no older maps
the southernmost territory of China during
from China, Vietnam, or other countries
the Tang Dynasty was Hainan.
showing that Scarborough Shoal belongs to
them, and the oldest map showing
Scarborough Shoal is from the Philippines Additional Information
●​ A map from the Song Dynasty in
The oldest map also shows Los Bajos de 1136 also shows Hainan as the
Paragua, which is the old Spanish name for southernmost territory of China,
Palawan, and the shoals of Paraguay are the and there is only one copy of this
Spratleys, with no older maps from China or map, which is a stone map in China
Vietnam showing that the Spratlys belong
to them. A map from the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongol
dynasty, also shows Hainan as the
Additional Information southernmost territory of China
●​ The map was made by Father
Pedro Murillo Velarde, a Jesuit Additional Information
priest, and the engraver was ●​ The southernmost territory of China
Nicolas de la Cruz, a Filipino, while during the Ming Dynasty was
Hainan, as shown on a Ming

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Dynasty map, which is one of ●​ China's declaration in 1932

China's favorite maps and is stated that the Paracels were
included in the Atlas of Ancient the southernmost part of
Maps of China. Chinese territory, which they
cannot back out from.
●​ The Qing Dynasty also considered
Hainan as its southernmost
territory, as depicted on a Qing
Dynasty map, which is Map 129 of
the Atlas of Ancient Maps of China.

From the Song to the Qing Dynasty, almost

a thousand years, Hainan was the
southernmost territory of China
China's Constitutions and Territorial
Additional Information Definitions
●​ China never occupied the Paracels,
Spratlys, or Scarborough during the China became a republic after the end of
dynasties, as shown by the Qing Dynasty in 1912 and had several
superimposing maps of Chinese constitutions, with the first constitution in
dynasties on a map of Asia. 1914 defining the territory of the Republic of
China as the territory of the former empire.
●​ China's submission to the Hague
Tribunal stated that Chinese
Additional Information
territory extended no further south
than Hainan. ●​ The People's Republic of China
interpreted the former empire to
refer to the Qing Dynasty territory,
China's Shifting Claims and the Paracels which included Tibet, Xinjiang, and
other regions, but unfortunately for
China, the Qing Dynasty's territory
In 1932, China moved out of Hainan, and the
only included Hainan as its
French occupied the Paracels, with China
southernmost point.
protesting through a note verbal to the
French government on September 29, 1932
According to China's constitution, the
Additional Information territory of the Republic of China continues
●​ In the note verbal, China declared to be the territory of the former empire,
that the Paracels, specifically the which is the Qing Dynasty territory
Amphitrite and Crescent groups,
formed the southernmost part of Additional Information
Chinese territory, lying 145 nautical ●​ The Qing dynasty's territory never
miles from Hainan Island extended further south than
Hainan, as stated in China's
constitutions from 1924, 1937, and

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January 1, 1947, which referred to visited China in 1417 and brought gifts to the
the traditional territory of the Qing emperor, which the Chinese interpreted as
dynasty. a tribute, making the Sultan a vassal.

Additional Information
●​ The Chinese considered gifts to
their leaders as tributes, making
the giver a vassal, which is why it is
essential to clarify that a gift is not a
tribute when giving something to a
Chinese leader.

Another map from 1938, also showing the

territories China wanted to recover,
The Century of National Humiliation and excluded the Sulu Archipelago but still did
Chinese Maps not include the Spratlys or Scarborough
Shoal.
China suffered what they called the
"century of national humiliation," from the Additional Information
1820s to the end of the 1800s, during which ●​ The maps of national humiliation
foreign powers from Europe, Japan, and were taught to elementary school
Russia occupied Chinese territories, leading children, which is why many
to several defeats in wars with European Chinese people believe they own
powers. the South China Sea.

Chinese citizens drew maps, known as the

"Map of China's National Humiliation," The China Handbook and the Claim to the
which included territories they wanted to Spratlys
recover when China became strong again,
but these maps did not include the Spratlys In 1943, the Ministry of Information of the
or Scarborough Shoal. Republic of China published a handbook
called "China Handbook" to introduce the
Additional Information
●​ The 1926 Map of National Republic of China to the world, stating that
Humiliation, drawn by private their territory extended to the Paracel
citizens, included other territories Group, with Triton Island being the
that China never owned, such as southernmost territory, but not claiming the
Borneo, Cambodia, and Vietnam, Spratlys or Scarborough Shoal.
but excluded the Spratlys and
Scarborough Shoal. Additional Information
●​ The handbook was revised in 1946
The Sulu Archipelago was included in the and published in 1947, with a
map as part of the territory to be recovered supplement from 1946, in which
because Sultan Paduka Batara of Sulu China claimed sovereignty over the

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Spratlys, referred to as the "Coral Fake Stone Markers and the Naming of
Islands," but admitted that the Islands
islands were contested among
China, the Commonwealth of the China has sovereignty stone markers in the
Philippines, and the French in Paracels, which claim that China was
Indo-China. present on the islands in 1901 and 1902, but
similar markers in the Spratlys are
China did not claim indisputable considered fake.
sovereignty over the Spratlys in the 1946
handbook, acknowledging that the islands
were also claimed by the Philippines and
the French in Vietnam.

The Nine-Dash Line Map and Its Origins

In 1947, China created the infamous

Additional Information
nine-dash line map, which was circulated
●​ A 1987 book published by the
internally among Chinese government
province of Guangdong,
offices for validation and released
"Compilation of the Names of All
domestically in February 1948, featuring the
the Islands in Nanai South Sea,"
Spratlys and Scarborough Shoal, but with
contains an annex and editor's note
names copied from British charts.
that provide interesting
information about the naming of
China did not have original names for the
the islands.
features in the Spratlys and did not have a
name for Scarborough Shoal until they
possibly used a 1906 UK-published China In 1937, China announced that Wong Chung
was being sent to the Paracels to check if
city directory to give the shoal the name the Japanese had established bases and to
"Lukanyan" or "Jangmu," which was a assert Chinese sovereignty over the
transliteration of the British name Paracels, but he actually had a secret
"Scarborough.” mission to plant stone markers in the area.

Additional Information Additional Information

●​ The Europeans had already given ●​ Wong Chung made a confidential
names to the Spratlys, including report on July 1, 1937, stating that he
Scarborough Shoal, which was placed stone markers in North
named after the Scarborough ship Island, commemorating the
ran aground in 1748, and China was inspection of 1902, and in Woody
not the first to give names to the Island, commemorating the
islands. inspection of 1911, which were
actually anti-dated.

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copy of the book through a friend who

●​ The stone markers were placed in frequented second-hand bookstores in
about 20-24 places in the Paracels, Beijing.
and were later revealed to be fake
when a confidential report was The Gusujin Observatory Claim and Its
published by mistake in a book by Contradictions
the Guangdong province.
●​ The book is now a rare publication, Before filing a case against China with the
as the Chinese government is UN Tribunal at The Hague, a visit to the
believed to have recalled all copies Chinese Embassy website in Manila
after the information was made revealed a claim that China was the first to
public. discover Scarborough Shoal in 1279

●​ The book also includes an editor's

note stating that stone tablets on
two islands in the Spratlys, West
York Island and Spratly Island, may

have been erected by the Taiwanese navy

Additional Information
in 1956, rather than in 1946 as indicated on
●​ The claim stated that Gusujin, a
the tablets.
brilliant mathematician, engineer,
and astronomer, put up an
●​ The captain of the ship that went to
observatory on Huangyan Island
Itu-aba in 1946, Taiping, confirmed
upon instruction of Kublai Khan in
that no stone tablets were planted
1279.
on West York Island or Spratly
Island, contradicting the
●​ However, in 1980, China claimed
information on the stone tablets.
that Gusujin's observatory was
actually in the Paracels, which is
●​ The stone tablets on West York
380 nautical miles away from
Island and Spratly Island were likely
Scarborough Shoal, raising doubts
erected by the Taiwanese Navy in
about the accuracy of the claim
1956, not in 1994, as the
Kuomintang took possession of Itu
Aba in 1946 but left in 1949-1950 The Chinese publication Beijing Review
and returned in 1956. stated that Gusujin's observatory was in the
Paracels, but now China claims it was in
●​ The stone markers were probably Scarborough Shoal, contradicting their
anti-dated to December 1946, previous statement.
making them "totally fake.”
Additional Information
A French scholar, Franco Javier Bonnet, ●​ Gusujin's observatories in mainland
alerted the author to the existence of the China were massive structures,
book, which included the confidential with one still existing today in
report, and the author was able to obtain a

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Hainan Province, making it unlikely Paris of 1898, the Treaty of Washington of

that he could have built a similar 1900, and the Treaty of 1930 with the
structure on the small rocks of British, and that the Scarborough Shoal
Scarborough Shoal. and the Spratlys are outside the treaty lines.

Additional Information
The Scarborough Shoal is a small area,
●​ However, the Treaty of Washington
approximately three meters high above
of 1900 clarifies that Spain
water at high tide, and can accommodate
relinquished all title and claim of
around 10 people, making it physically
title to any and all islands
impossible for China to have placed an
belonging to the Philippine
astronomical observation point there.
archipelago, lying outside the lines,
to the US.

●​ The Treaty of Washington is

considered the more important
treaty, as it includes all islands
belonging to the Philippine
The Tribunal's Ruling and the Scarborough
archipelago, within or outside the
Shoal treaty lines, but it is not commonly
taught or referenced.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration tribunal

ruled that China never had historic rights in
the South China Sea, as there is no evidence The question remains as to what are the
to suggest that China historically regulated islands belonging to the Philippine
or controlled shipping and fishing in the archipelago lying outside the lines, and
area. what is the frame of reference for
determining this
The Scarborough Shoal is a large area of
approximately 150 square kilometers, with The Philippine archipelago's territory is
coral reefs surrounding it, and is considered defined by the 1734 Pedro Murillo Velarde
the entry and exit point for the area. map, which was used as a frame of
reference for the Treaty of Washington and
the Treaty of Paris, and includes
Treaties and the Definition of Philippine
Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands.
Territory

Additional Information
The Treaty of Paris of 1898, which ceded the
●​ The 1734 Pedro Murillo Velarde
Philippines to the US, did not include the
map is considered the official
Scarborough Shoal and the Spratlys, as they
Philippine territory under the
are outside the treaty lines
Spanish regime and was ceded
to the Americans, and it is still
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated
used today to determine the
that the Philippine territory is regulated by
country's territory.
three treaties, which include the Treaty of

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●​ A copy of the 1734 Pedro Murillo

Velarde map was auctioned off
at Sotheby's, and it was
purchased by a friend who
donated it to the National
Library of the Philippines so that
it can be used as a reference for
school children to learn about
the country's territory.

●​ The map shows that Additional Information

Scarborough Shoal and the ●​ The area is still disputed, with three
Spratly Islands have been part of rocks above water at high tide still
Philippine territory since 1734. being claimed by both the
Philippines and China, but the
tribunal has no jurisdiction over
territorial issues.

The Philippines' EEZ and Disputed Areas

China claimed a shaded area in the South The Philippines won an area of 376,000
China Sea, but the tribunal ruled that the square kilometers in the South China Sea,
nine-dash lines have no legal effect, which is free from any Chinese claim and is
resulting in the area being considered high larger than the country's total land area
seas and part of the Philippines' exclusive
economic zone (EEZ).
Additional Information
●​ The Philippines owns all the
Additional Information resources within this maritime area,
●​ The Philippines' EEZ is adjacent to including fish, oil, gas, and other
the EEZs of Malaysia, Brunei, minerals.
Indonesia, and Vietnam, as well as
China's EEZ.
Maritime Zones and Freedom of Navigation
The shaded area in red, which is the
Philippines' EEZ, is larger than the country's The Philippines' maritime zones include a
national land territory and is estimated to territorial sea of 12 nautical miles, an EEZ of
be around 376,000 square kilometers. 188 nautical miles, and a high seas area.

Additional Information
●​ The extended continental shelf is
an area belonging to mankind, but

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the Philippines has sovereignty runway, barracks, radars, and structures for
over its EEZ and territorial sea. warships and submarines

The airbase and naval base on Mischief Reef

The concept of freedom of navigation and pose a significant threat to the Philippines,
overflight allows civilian and military aircraft as any jet fighter can reach Manila in less
and vessels from any country to sail and fly than 20 minutes, and the radar can monitor
in the South China Sea without needing any aircraft landing or taking off in Puerto
the consent of the coastal state. Princesa or the entire Palawan area.

Additional Information Additional Information

●​ Following the tribunal's ruling, ●​ The Chinese refer to the Mischief
several countries, including the US, Reef base as their "Pearl Harbor" in
France, the UK, and Australia, the South China Sea, and it will be
announced that they would used to enforce the nine-dash line
continue to sail and fly in the South as China's national boundary.
China Sea.

Mischief Reef and Its Strategic Importance

Enforcing the Ruling and International
Interests
The tribunal specifically found that Mischief
Reef is a low-tide elevation, submerged at
high tide, and therefore has no territorial The US has tested the ruling by sailing a
sea and cannot be owned by any state. ship in a zigzag pattern near Mischief Reef,
demonstrating that it is not a territorial sea,
and has also flown a Poseidon aircraft over
Additional Information the reef to detect submerged submarines.
●​ As part of the Philippines' Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ), Mischief Reef
can only be exploited by the Additional Information
Philippines, and only the ●​ The US has enforced the ruling on
Philippines can put up structures multiple occasions, including in
there. November 2019, when the USS
Giffords sailed near Mischief Reef,
and the US Poseidon aircraft flew
China's presence on Mischief Reef is over the reef, prompting a
considered squatting, and the reef has been conversation with Chinese ground
transformed into a military-grade airbase controllers.
and naval base with a three-kilometer

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Other countries are enforcing the ruling in The Philippines should encourage all navies
the South China Sea not out of love for the of the world to sail in the South China Sea
Philippines, but because it is in their and West Philippine Sea to enforce the
national interest to protect their sea lanes, ruling, and ask neighboring countries to
with over $5.2 trillion in trade passing help explain to the Chinese people that
through the area every year, including over China never had historic rights in the South
$1 trillion in US-bound and outbound trade. China Sea

Additional Information The Philippines should continue to resort to

●​ Countries like France, Britain, the rule of law, as the country's constitution
Japan, India, and Canada have renounces war as an instrument of national
naval ships continuously sailing in policy, and the UN Charter prohibits the use
the South China Sea to maintain of force or threat of force in settling
freedom of navigation and territorial or maritime disputes.
overflight, and to assert their
presence in exclusive economic
zones.
●​ These naval patrols are a way for
these countries to enforce the
ruling without directly saying so,
instead using the phrase
"integrity of the rules-based
international system."

Japan has two helicopter carriers that

alternate in sailing in the South China Sea
every year, with the captain of one ship Additional Information
stating that they sent a helicopter aloft in ●​ The President of the Philippines
the West Philippine Sea to assert freedom does not have the power to declare
of navigation war, and can only call the armed
forces in case of invasion
The Indians send a naval task force to the
South China Sea every year to assert ●​ The President cannot direct
freedom of navigation, and the Canadians aggression against another state,
do the same as it is not one of his powers

These naval powers are showing China that ●​ The power to declare war is lodged
the areas they are sailing in are exclusive in Congress, which requires a
economic zones or high seas, which China two-thirds vote of both houses in
refuses to accept. joint session assembled, voting
separately

The Philippines' Role and the Rule of Law

PAGE 14
 The Overview of the West
Philippine Sea Dispute
STUDY WELL! Do your best!!

●​ Congress has the sole power to

declare the existence of a state of
war, as stated in the Philippine
Constitution.

The Philippines must fight to preserve its

sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea
through the rule of law.

PAGE 15