TERRITORY DISPUTE

ON THE WEST
PHILIPPINE SEA
"Independence demands that we always

act and assert our sovereign rights. Kung

tatahimik ka lang dahil takot ka ay hindi ka

independent. Takot ka." Prof. Jay

Batongbacal, an expert in Philippine

maritime law, stated. He made this

statement in relation to the Philippine

government's present attitude on China's

incursion into the West Philippine Sea.

The conflict extends all the way back to

2013 when Manila filed a lawsuit with the

Permanent Court of Arbitration following a

series of confrontations with China over the

disputed Scarborough Shoal. They took this

measure in response to the United Nations

Convention on the Law of the Sea, which

China accepted, being designated as the

avenue for resolving maritime disputes.

Manila contested China's expansive claims

to the West Philippine Sea, arguing that the

numerous reefs, atolls, and rocks do not

qualify as islands and that Beijing's harsh

stance violates the rule of law. China and

the ASEAN bloc pledged during their

September 2016 summit to respect freedom

of navigation in the area; to resolve

territorial disputes peacefully, through

negotiations and with due regard for the

United Nations Convention on the Law of

the Sea (UNCLOS); and, finally, to develop

a South China Sea Code of Conduct.

Philippines and China relations have

recently been dominated by territorial

disputes in the West Philippine Sea, which

have deteriorated since the naval standoff

over the Scarborough Shoal in April 2012

and have been exacerbated by illegal

Chinese occupation, illegal infrastructure

establishment, and incursions and

encroachment into the Philippines'

Exclusive Economic Zone . Bilateral

relations deteriorated in January 2013,

when the Philippine government launched

an arbitration lawsuit against China under

the United Nations Convention on the Law

of the Sea (UNCLOS), contesting the

legitimacy of China's claim to the disputed

waters through a nine-dash line.