Philippines Submits New West Philippine Sea Map to United Nations

The Philippines is apparently hell-bent in trying to establish territorial jurisdiction over the disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea.

President Aquino had ordered yesterday that the map of the Philippines be submitted to the United Nations, in consonance with AO No. 29, renaming the sea west of the country as the West Philippine Sea, from what it was previously called as the South China Sea.

Portion of the AO reads: (Section 4)

“The Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs in consultation with Namria [National Mapping and Resource Information Authority], their appropriate government agencies, shall deposit, at the appropriate time, a copy of this order enclosing the official map reflecting the West Philippine Sea with the secretary general of the United Nations and notify accordingly relevant international organizations, such as the International Hydrographic Organization and the UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names,” 

The map would include distinctly identified areas as the following: Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo De Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal.

Benham Rise, a subterranean continental land mass should also be included in the new map, as this was granted to the Philippines just last April when The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), a UN agency, has publicly recognized the Philippines claim to the area.

This action by the Philippine government is inclined to establish its claim over the disputed territories through international recognition although this would not be the most appropriate action.

Disputes over territories are decided by international courts, primarily the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), invoking the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

But the disputes would not be heard and no proceedings would materialize if any of the nations involved would not submit their consent for arbitration.

This is the main struggle in the Philippines’ thrust to put the issue for litigation before the United Nation as China had repeatedly refuse to give its consent, preferring to assert its claim through military maneuvers and tactics.