Philippines Rejects China’s ‘Illegal’ Claim on UN Panatag Chart, Citing 2016 Ruling
Updated
Updated · INQUIRER.net · Aug 8
Philippines Rejects China’s ‘Illegal’ Claim on UN Panatag Chart, Citing 2016 Ruling
3 articles · Updated · INQUIRER.net · Aug 8
Summary
Manila’s defense department said its updated Panatag Shoal chart filed with the United Nations is a lawful assertion of Philippine maritime zones and will not be withdrawn despite Beijing’s objections.
The DND said the submission gives legal clarity to the shoal’s maritime limits under UNCLOS and the 2016 South China Sea arbitral award, which it called final and binding.
China had branded the move “illegal, null and void,” said PLA Southern Theater Command drills near the shoal were a warning, and threatened “firm and effective countermeasures” against further Philippine actions.
Panatag—also called Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc—has been under Chinese control since a 2012 standoff, though it lies about 220 km west of Zambales and within the Philippines’ EEZ.
The 2016 Hague ruling said the shoal’s rocks generate only a territorial sea, not an EEZ, and found China had unlawfully blocked Philippine fishermen’s traditional access after May 2012.