West Philippine Sea updates

West Philippine Sea is the name given by an administrative order (AO) of then President Benigno Aquino III to Philippine territorial waters west of the country. Aquino’s AO said West Philippine Sea covers “the Luzon Sea as well as the waters around, within, and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo De Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal."

West Philippine Sea and South China Sea are not the same. West Philippine Sea refers to waters inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) which, by international law, are waters up to 200 kilometers beyond the country’s continental shelf.

Being inside the Philippines’ EEZ, West Philippine Sea is an area over which the country has exclusive rights to natural resources.

The West Philippine Sea is west of the Philippine archipelago, stretching from the west of the Batanes group of islands in the north to the western coast of Palawan in the south.

In 2016, the Philippines won its case against China in a landmark arbitral ruling at the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague.

The international court rejected Beijing’s then nine-dash line claim to nearly the entire South China Sea, including West Philippine Sea. The ruling also declared the Philippines to have rightful ownership of West Philippine Sea.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said any claims “beyond the geographic and substantive limits of UNCLOS-provided maritime entitlements are without legal effect.” UNCLOS refers to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

China’s ambition to become the lone regional superpower in Indo-Pacific could be among the driving forces in its ongoing campaign to conquer the entire South China Sea, including West Philippine Sea.

The area is a major shipping and trading route where, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, $3 trillion, or more than a fifth, of the world's trade passes through.

The entire South China Sea, including West Philippine Sea, is believed to be rich in natural resources, especially oil and gas.

According to the Philippine Department of Energy, West Philippine Sea alone has an estimated 12,158 billion cubic feet of natural gas reserves and 6,203 million barrels of oil reserves within the Philippines’ EEZ.

West Philippine Sea is also a rich source of fisheries production, with over 300,000 metric tons of fish harvested annually, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The West Philippine Sea rightfully belongs to the Philippines, a fact recognized by the 2016 arbitral decision favoring the country. Upholding this ruling is the state's duty and responsibility if it is to exercise its sovereign rights.