China explained the 9-dashed lines map through the 2009 Note Verbale stating, “China has indisputable

sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and the adjacent waters, and enjoys sovereign rights
and jurisdiction over the relevant waters as well as the seabed and subsoil thereof.” The terms
“adjacent” and “relevant” waters are not UNCLOS terms. The phrases "adjacent" and "relevant" are not
defined in the UNCLOS. China, on the other hand, refuses to define "adjacent" or "relevant" seas.

The 10-dashed lines on China's recently published map from 2013 are its "national borders," with no
explanation of the legal basis or set coordinates for the dashes. SinoMaps Press released the 2013 China
map, which is governed by China's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping. The Philippines, on the other
hand, declared in a June 7, 2013 Note Verbale to China that it "seriously opposes to the implication that
the nine-dash lines in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea constitute China's national boundaries."
The legal reason for the dashes was not explained by China. There were no set locations for the dashes.

When it came to the question of whether Scarborough Shoal is part of Philippine territory, Secretary
Cordell Hull of the US State Department addressed to Harry Woodring, Secretary of War, on July 27,
1938, declaring: “The shoal should be considered part of the islands surrendered to the United States by
the American-Spanish Treaty of November 7, 1900, due to the lack of alternative claims.” In the absence
of proof that any other country has a superior claim to Scarborough Shoal, the Department of State
would have no issue to the Commonwealth Government's request to investigate the shoal's potential as
an aid to air and ocean navigation.