The Philippines has asserted its exclusive rights to explore and exploit natural resources in its extended continental shelf (ECS) entitlement within the South China Sea, submitting a claim to the United Nations (UN) on Saturday. This move comes amidst ongoing maritime disputes with China, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, including areas claimed by the Philippines and other nations. The strategic waterway, where an estimated $3 trillion worth of trade transits annually, is believed to hold rich deposits of oil, natural gas, and fish stocks. Despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that found China’s sweeping claims to be without legal basis, Beijing continues to reject the decision. To date, the Chinese embassy in Manila has not responded to requests for comment regarding the Philippines’ UN filing. In recent confrontations with Philippine government and fishing vessels, China’s coastguard has escalated its use of aggressive tactics, including water cannons, collisions, ramming, and, according to Manila, military-grade lasers. A large number of Chinese fishing boats are suspected by the Philippines and its allies to constitute a sea militia. The Philippines has specifically sought to register its entitlement to an extended continental shelf in the West Palawan Region, which faces the South China Sea. The submission, approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is based on a comprehensive technical and scientific study of the continental shelf in the West Philippine Sea, a part of the South China Sea that falls within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. The Philippines is invoking its rights under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to establish the outer limits of its continental shelf, which includes the seabed and subsoil of submarine areas extending up to 350 nautical miles. In 2012, the UN recognized Benham Rise, which lies off the Philippines’ east coast and is not disputed by China, as part of the Philippines’ extended continental shelf.
Philippines Stakes Claim to Extended Continental Shelf in South China Sea
