The exclusive economic zone of the Philippines shown in the lighter blue shade, with archepelagic waters in the darkest blue

The Philippines has an exclusive economic zone that covers 2,263,816 square kilometers (874,064 sq mi) of sea. It claims an EEZ of 200 nautical miles (370 km) from its shores.[1] This is due to the 7,641 islands comprising the Philippine archipelago.[2] The coordinates are between 116° 40', and 126° 34' E longitude and 4° 40' and 21° 10' N latitude. It is bordered by the Philippine Sea[3] to the east and north, the South China Sea[4] to the west, and the Celebes Sea[5] to the south.

Disputes

Territorial claims in the South China Sea. The Philippines's EEZ has a purple line.

The Philippines has territorial disputes in the South China Sea mainly with the People's Republic of China. Nearly the whole South China Sea is claimed by China with the nine-dash line. This line cuts half of the Philippine's EEZ. In 2011, President Benigno Aquino III said "China's nine-dash line territorial claim over the entire South China Sea is against international laws, particularly the United Nations Convention of the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS)".[6] In 2013, China began building artificial islands and military bases on reefs in the Spratly Islands and on Scarborough Shoal which it seized in 2012. As of 2019, China controls 20 outposts in the Paracel Islands and 7 in the Spratlys.[7]

In July 2016, a tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague ruled against China's nine-dash line demarcation. As the Council on Foreign Relations wrote at the time, "The panel found that China’s claims of historic rights within the nine-dash line, which Beijing uses to demarcate its claims in the South China Sea, were without legal foundation. The panel also concluded that Beijing’s activities within the Philippines’ two-hundred-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), such as illegal fishing and environmentally ruinous artificial island construction, infringed on Manila’s sovereign rights."

On June 12, 2019, a Chinese vessel collided with and sank an anchored Philippine fishing boat (F/B Gem-Ver 1) near Recto Bank in the South China Sea. The Chinese vessel did not save the 22 Filipino fishermen on-board according to the Philippine Department of National Defense. A couple of minutes later, they were rescued by a Vietnamese fishing boat. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said the collision was "far from accidental."[8]

On April 15, 2021, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) reported that approximately 240,000 kilos (260 tons) of fish have been taken by Chinese fishing vessels in the South China Sea every day. The Chinese fishing vessels operate around the Union Banks and Thitu Island (Pag-asa Islands).[9] The overfishing causes the depletion of marine resources.[9] During the same month, an estimated 240 Chinese vessels were patrolling throughout the South China Sea.[9]

In November 2021, two Filipino military supply boats were blocked by three Chinese coast guard ships which also fired water cannons.[10] The supply vessels were headed to Second Thomas Shoal within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.[10] The atoll has been occupied by a Philippine military contingent since 1999. The incident was strongly condemned by Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin and former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Exclusive Economic Zones – Sea Around Us Project – Fisheries, Ecosystems & Biodiversity – Data and Visualization.
  2. ↑ "Namria discovers 400 to 500 new islands in PHL archipelago".
  3. ↑ Philippine Sea, encarta.msn.com Archived October 31, 2009, at WebCite (archived from the original Archived August 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine on August 20, 2009).
  4. ↑ "U.S. report details rich resources in South China Sea." (archived from the original on 2013-02-133)
  5. ↑ C.Michael Hogan. 2011. "Celebes Sea". Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. P. Saundry & C.J. Cleveland. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington, DC
  6. ↑ Bengco, Regina (June 2, 2011). "Aquino mulls UN protest on Spratlys". Maritime Security Asia. Archived from the original on January 14, 2013.
  7. ↑ "China Island Tracker". Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  8. ↑ "AFP: Chinese vessel's sinking of PH boat 'far from accidental'". June 12, 2019. Archived from the original on June 14, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  9. 1 2 3 "'Worse than invasion': China ships poach 240,000 kg of fish daily in PH seas, says group". Inquirer.net. April 15, 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 "Philippines tells China to 'back off' after water cannons fired in South China Sea". ABC. November 18, 2021. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Duterte to China: Philippines 'abhors' sea standoff". ABS-CBN News. November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
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