Territorial
For more than a year since the standoff at Scarborough Shoal, news headlines have been peppered with references to the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea. What is the difference between them? Between KIG, the Spratlys, and Scarborough?
Recently, the University of the Philippines’ Asian Center and the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea came out with a primer, "The West Philippine Sea: The Territorial and Maritime Jurisdiction Disputes from a Filipino Perspective."
Authored by Profs. Aileen Baviera and Jay Batongbacal, the primer covers the "historical background, current conditions, pertinent issues, and policy questions regarding the territorial and maritime disputes in the West Philippine Sea."
Here, InterAksyon.com shares the primer's 10 most basic questions and answers about the disputed territories.
1. What is the South China Sea?
It is a “semi-enclosed” body of water surrounded by Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Connected to it are the Gulf of Tonkin and the Gulf of Thailand. Macclesfield Bank, the Paracels, Pratas Island, and the Spratlys also lie on the South China Sea.
Various countries have “overlapping claims” to these bodies of land and water.
It is “important” because of its location, with “oil and other goods” being transported through it. It also has a “role in the naval strategies” of countries such as China and the United States.
2. What is the West Philippine Sea?
This is the part of the South China Sea closest to the Philippines.
It received this name upon President Benigno Aquino III’s issuance of Administrative Order No. 29 in September last year.
Covered are the “maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago,” including “the Luzon Sea, as well as the waters around, within, and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and Bajo de Masinloc.”
3. What is the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG)?
Located in the Spratly Islands, the KIG “is a group
Recently, the University of the Philippines’ Asian Center and the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea came out with a primer, "The West Philippine Sea: The Territorial and Maritime Jurisdiction Disputes from a Filipino Perspective."
Authored by Profs. Aileen Baviera and Jay Batongbacal, the primer covers the "historical background, current conditions, pertinent issues, and policy questions regarding the territorial and maritime disputes in the West Philippine Sea."
Here, InterAksyon.com shares the primer's 10 most basic questions and answers about the disputed territories.
1. What is the South China Sea?
It is a “semi-enclosed” body of water surrounded by Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Connected to it are the Gulf of Tonkin and the Gulf of Thailand. Macclesfield Bank, the Paracels, Pratas Island, and the Spratlys also lie on the South China Sea.
Various countries have “overlapping claims” to these bodies of land and water.
It is “important” because of its location, with “oil and other goods” being transported through it. It also has a “role in the naval strategies” of countries such as China and the United States.
2. What is the West Philippine Sea?
This is the part of the South China Sea closest to the Philippines.
It received this name upon President Benigno Aquino III’s issuance of Administrative Order No. 29 in September last year.
Covered are the “maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago,” including “the Luzon Sea, as well as the waters around, within, and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and Bajo de Masinloc.”
3. What is the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG)?
Located in the Spratly Islands, the KIG “is a group