The West Philippine Sea (WPS) is a real thing and not a figment of imagination, unlike China’s 10-dash line claim in the South China Sea (SCS).
This was pointed out by National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Año during the concluding session on the second day of the 2024 Post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) Discussions in Pasay City on Wednesday, July 24.
“We, at the National Security Council and the NTF-WPS [National Task Force for West Philippine Sea] would like to express our deep appreciation for the President’s statement at the SONA that West Philippine Sea is ours and not a figment of imagination,” Año said.
The NSA cited international laws and legal instruments which prove that the WPS, a portion of the SCS located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), is “legally and historically ours.”
Among them include the 1734 Murillo Velarde Spanish map which shows that Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc) is part of the Philippine territory; the Treaty of Paris in 1898 which set the demarcation lines of the Philippines when Spain ceded the country to the United States; and the Treaty of Washington in 1900 which included the Scarborough Shoal and Spratly Island as part of Philippine territory.
Año also cited the 1930 Convention Between the United States and Great Britain (1930) which definitively delimits the boundary between North Borneo and the Philippine archipelago; the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which defines the rights of countries to the world’s oceans; and the arbitral award by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) issued on July 12, 2016 which invalidated China’s dash-line claims in the SCS.
“We also have the support of the international community unlike the 10-dash line which has no legal and historical basis so ito talaga ang tunay na kathang-isip (this one is the imagination),” Año said.
During his third SONA last Monday, Marcos said: “Ang West Philippine Sea ay hindi isang kathang-isip natin lamang (The West Philippine Sea is not a figment of imagination).”
This earned a round of applause and a standing ovation from the SONA attendees.
Año said that the Marcos administration will always seek to uphold peace, stability, security and rule of law to ensure a free Indo-Pacific region.
“Where we stand our ground and protect what is ours, we do not seek escalation but rather choose the professional and peaceful handling of the situation,” the NSA noted.