West Philippine Sea

Designation for parts of the South China Sea claimed by the Philippines

Not to be confused with eastern Philippine Sea.

West Philippine Sea

Kanlurang Dagat ng Pilipinas (Filipino)

An outdated map showing the approximate area corresponding to the official extent of the West Philippine Sea. Also included is the international treaty limits (red line as per the 1898 Treaty of Paris) and the Spratly Islands which is often designated as the Kalayaan Island Group in Philippine maps (green line as per Presidential Decree No. 1596 of 1978[1]). The international treaty limits under the Treaty of Washington (1900), which retroactively included the outlying territories outside the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and is one of the many basis for the Philippine claim on Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands, is not included in the outdated map.[2][3][4]

West Philippine Sea

Show map of Luzon

West Philippine Sea

Show map of South China Sea

West Philippine Sea

Show map of Southeast Asia

West Philippine Sea

Show map of Asia

Coordinates| 13°N 118°E﻿ / ﻿13°N 118°E﻿ / 13; 118
Etymology| After the Philippines (name officially adopted by the Philippine government on September 5, 2012 pursuant to Administrative Order No. 29.)
Part of| South China Sea (Philippine-claimed EEZ only)
Islands| Scarborough Shoal and Spratly Islands (disputed territories)

West Philippine Sea (Filipino: Kanlurang Dagat ng Pilipinas;[5][6] or Karagatang Kanlurang Pilipinas;[7] abbreviated as WPS) is the designation by the government of the Philippines to the parts of the South China Sea that are included in the country's exclusive economic zone. The term is also sometimes incorrectly used to refer to the entire South China Sea.

## Background

[edit]

The term "West Philippine Sea" has been in use by the international community since at least 1961, mentioned in geology and oceanography papers. It was, however, used to refer to the western portion of the Philippine Sea, which is East of the Philippine archipelago.[8][9][10]

The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), in its Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition (1953), does not list a West Philippine Sea. Instead, the area encompassed by the West Philippine Sea is considered a portion of the South China Sea.[11] The 1986 draft of the IHO's Limits of Oceans and Seas proposed the Natuna Sea, which extends south from the Natuna and Anambas Islands to the Belitung Islands.[12]

As early as 2011, during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, the Philippine national government had begun to refer to the waters to the West of the Philippine archipelago by the same name.[13] The new definition of the name was intended for purposes of the national mapping system[14] and according to Walden Bello, to signify disagreement with China's sovereignty claim over the entirety of a "South China Sea".[15]

In the House of Representatives, Akbayan representative Walden Bello filed a resolution in June 2011 urging the government to look into the process of changing the name of the South China Sea to "Western Philippine Sea".[16] According to Bello, the term West Philippine Sea did not carry any specific spatial demarcation or geographical specificity and was meant to reflect that the South China Sea was not China’s sea.[15] The proposal to have a different naming for the sea has received support from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which has been using West Philippine Sea since the mid-2000s.[17]

That was codified by administrative order in September 2012, which mandated use of that term by departments, subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities of the Philippine government.[14] In September 2012, the Philippine government announced that it would start using the name to refer to waters west of the Philippines as "West Philippine Sea" in government maps, other forms of communication and documents.[13] Application of the term has been clarified as limited to waters within the Exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.[18]

### 2016 PCA ruling

[edit]

Main article: Philippines v. China

On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines in a case not involving naming. It clarified that "The Tribunal has not been asked to, and does not purport to, delimit any maritime boundary between the Parties or involving any other State bordering on the South China Sea".[19][20][21] The tribunal also ruled that China has "no historical rights" based on the "nine-dash line" map.[20][21]

## Legal scope

[edit]

There is no exact demarcation of boundaries for the area in the South China Sea which forms the West Philippine Sea.[15] The Administrative order which officially named the area defined it as follows:

> The maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago are hereby named as the West Philippine Sea. These areas include the Luzon Sea as well as the waters around within the adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal.

> — Sec. 1, Administrative Order No. 29 (2012)[14]

In Philippine law, the West Philippine Sea refers only to the portions of the South China Sea which the Philippine government claims to be part of the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The naming of the area became official through Administrative Order No. 29 issued by then-President Benigno Aquino III on September 5, 2012. The order also cites Presidential Decree No. 1599 which was issued in 1978 during the tenure of then President Ferdinand Marcos which established the Philippine EEZ as well as the Republic Act No. 9522 or the Baselines Law which was enacted into law in 2009 during the administration of then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo which delineated the baselines of the Philippine archipelago.[22]

The administrative order asserts the Philippine claim over its EEZ in the South China Sea which conveys the Philippine government's position that it has sovereign rights under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over the West Philippine Sea area and "inherent power and right to designate its maritime areas with appropriate nomenclature for purposes of the national mapping system".[22]

## Usage

[edit]

Unofficial NAMRIA map showing features in the West Philippine Sea. Features names are those recognized by Philippine government.

Under the Administrative Order No. 29, the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) is mandated to use the designation West Philippine Sea in maps produced and published by the government agency. Other government agencies are also required to use the term to popularize the use of the name domestically and internationally.[22]

Prior to the issuance of the order, the Philippines' weather bureau, PAGASA, adopted the name in 2011 to refer to waters west of the country while remained using "Philippine Sea" to refer waters east of the archipelago.[23]

The term West Philippine Sea has sometimes been used to refer to the whole of the South China Sea, though this is usage has been denounced as incorrect.[24]

The term "West Philippine Sea" has been searchable in Google Maps. In April 2025, Google updated its map to include a more explicit label for the West Philippine Sea. "South China Sea" remains visible northwest of the new label.[25][26] The Philippine government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines praised the move, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China objected to it.[27] However the explicit label was temporary removed before it was later visible again.[28][29][30]

## See also

[edit]

* Exclusive economic zone of the Philippines
* Natuna Sea

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Presidential Decree No. 1596, s. 1978". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. June 11, 1978. Archived from the original on July 14, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
2. ^ Bondoc, Jarius. "Carpio debunks China lie about owning Spratlys". Philstar.com. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
3. ^ Vega, Chito de la (November 11, 2023). "Analysis: The most complicated dispute in the world". Rappler. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
4. ^ "'Amplifying the true narrative of the West Philippine Sea'". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
5. ^ "Senate Bill No. 405, 19th Congress" (PDF) (in Filipino). 19th Congress of the Philippines. July 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
6. ^ "Pnoy, naalala sa tensyon sa China" (in Filipino). Philstar.com. June 25, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024. "Kaya't naalala ng mga Pilipino kung paano iginiit ni dating pangulo ang mga karapatan ng bansa sa Kanlurang Dagat ng Pilipinas sa paggunita sa anibersaryo ng kanyang kamatayan sa gitna ng kasalukuyang tensyon sa lugar kasunod ng panghihimasok ng China."
7. ^ "Ang West Philippine Sea: Isang Sipat" [The West Philippine Sea: A Briefer] (PDF) (in Filipino). Department of Foreign Affairs (Philippines). December 2014. p. 2. Retrieved February 18, 2022. "Nasa kanlurang bahagi ng Pilipinas ang Karagatang Kanlurang Pilipinas o West Philippine Sea (WPS)."
8. ^ Sato, T. (1961). "A guyot at the north margin of the West Philippine Sea Basin". Japanese Journal of Geology and Geography. 32 (2).
9. ^ Ludwig, W.J. (May 10, 1973). "Structure of East China Sea-West Philippine Sea Margin off southern Kyushu, Japan". Journal of Geophysical Research. 78 (14): 2526–2536\. doi:10.1029/JB078i014p02526.
10. ^ Correspondent, A (December 21, 1973). "Origin of Marginal Seas". Nature. 246 (5434): 447–448\. doi:10.1038/246447a0. `{{cite journal}}`: `|last1=` has generic name (help)
11. ^ "IHO Publication S-23, Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd Edition 1953" (PDF). IHO. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
12. ^ "IHO Publication S-23, Limits of Oceans and Seas, Draft 4th Edition, 1986". IHO. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
13. ^ a b Agence France-Presse (September 12, 2012). "Philippines renames coast 'West Philippine Sea'". South China Morning Post. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
14. ^ a b c "Administrative Order No. 29 : Naming the West Philippine Sea of the Republic of the Philippines, and for Other Purposes". Official Gazette. Government of the Philippines. September 5, 2012.
15. ^ a b c Heydarian, Javad. "The West Philippine Sea?". The Diplomat. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
16. ^ FRJ (June 3, 2011). "Gawing Western Philippine Sea: Tawag sa South China Sea, pinapapalitan ng kongresista" [Make it Western Philippine Sea: Congressman urges the name of South China Sea be changed]. GMA News (in Tagalog). Retrieved June 9, 2021.
17. ^ Evangelista, Katherine (June 8, 2011). "PH military favors calling South China Sea as Western Philippine Sea". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
18. ^ "IBP Statement on the West Philippine Sea". Integrated Bar of the Philippines. n.d. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
19. ^ "The Republic of the Philippines v. The People's Republic of China" (PDF). Permanent Court of Arbitration. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
20. ^ a b "PCA Press Release: The South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines v. The People's Republic of China) | PCA-CPA". pca-cpa.org. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
21. ^ a b Perlez, Jane (July 12, 2016). "Tribunal Rejects Beijing's Claims in South China Sea". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
22. ^ a b c Ubac, Michael Lim (September 13, 2012). "It's official: Aquino signs order on West Philippine Sea". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
23. ^ "South China Sea renamed in the Philippines". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on August 30, 2014.
24. ^ Agcaoili, John Gabriel (May 25, 2021). "Panelo confuses West Philippine Sea with whole South China Sea". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025. ""If you say the West Philippine Sea, the basis should be really Administrative Order [No.] 29, which clearly refers to only part of the South China Sea, which is under Philippine jurisdiction. It has never been synonymous with the South China Sea," Batongbacal said."
25. ^ Dava, Bianca (April 14, 2025). "West Philippine Sea is now on Google Maps". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
26. ^ "'West Philippine Sea' now visible on Google Maps without specific search". France 24. April 14, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
27. ^ Kang, Taejun (April 16, 2025). "Beijing, Manila at odds over Google Maps update on South China Sea". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
28. ^ Argosino, Faith (April 30, 2025). "West Philippine Sea no longer visible on Google Maps". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
29. ^ Dava, Bianca (April 30, 2025). "'West Philippine Sea' no longer visible on Google Maps". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
30. ^ Diana, Blanca (May 1, 2025). "'West Philippine Sea' label back on Google Maps after tech issue". ABS-CBN News.

## External links

[edit]

* "The West Philippine Sea | The Territorial and Maritime Jurisdictional Disputes from a Filipino Perspective | A Primer" (PDF). Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea | University of the Philippines. July 15, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2024.

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