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Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
has an exclusive economic zone that covers of sea. It claims an EEZ of from its shores. This is due to the 7,641 islands comprising the
Philippine archipelago The islands of the Philippines, also known as the Philippine Archipelago, comprises about 7,641 islands, of which only about 2,000 are inhabited. It has the fifth longest coastline in the world with .. (older version – as it existed in 2009 – during the presidency of
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...
),
The Official Government Portal of the Republic of the Philippines
''.
Central Intelligence Agency. (2009)

Washington, D.C.: Author. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
The coordinates are between 116° 40', and 126° 34' E
longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lette ...
and 4° 40' and 21° 10' N
latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north ...
. It is bordered by the
Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine archipelago (hence the name), the largest in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of . The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. Its ...
to the east and north, the South China Sea to the west, and the
Celebes Sea The Celebes Sea, (; ms, Laut Sulawesi, id, Laut Sulawesi, fil, Dagat Selebes) or Sulawesi Sea, of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by ...
to the south.


Disputes

The Philippines has
territorial disputes in the South China Sea Territorial disputes in the South China Sea involve conflicting island and maritime claims in the region by several sovereign states, namely Brunei, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan (Republic of China/ROC), Indonesia, Malaysia ...
mainly with the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Nearly the whole South China Sea is claimed by China with the nine-dash line. This line cuts half of the Philippine's EEZ. In 2011, President
Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and Colloquialism, colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the List of presidents of the Philippines, 15th presid ...
said "China's nine-dash line territorial claim over the entire South China Sea is against international laws, particularly the United Nations Convention of the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS)". In 2013, China began building
artificial island An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those tha ...
s and
military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...
s on reefs in the
Spratly Islands The Spratly Islands ( fil, Kapuluan ng Kalayaan; zh, c=南沙群島/南沙群岛, s=, t=, p=Nánshā Qúndǎo; Malay, id, Kepulauan Spratly; vi, Quần đảo Trường Sa) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed ...
and on
Scarborough Shoal Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc (in Spanish), Panatag Shoal ( fil, Kulumpol ng Panatag, lit=serene cluster), Huangyan Island (Mandarin zh, c=黄岩岛, p=Huáng Yán Dǎo, l=yellow rock island), and Democracy Reef, are two ro ...
which it seized in 2012. , China controls 20 outposts in the Paracel Islands and 7 in the Spratlys. On June 12, 2019, a Chinese vessel collided and sank an anchored Philippine fishing boat (F/B Gem-Ver 1) near Recto Bank in the South China Sea. The Chinese vessel did not save the 22 Filipino
fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...
on-board according to the Philippine Department of National Defense. A couple of minutes later, they were rescued by a
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
ese
fishing boat A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was e ...
. The
Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The ...
said the collision was "far from accidental." On April 15, 2021, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) reported that approximately 240,000 kilos (260 tons) of fish have been illegally taken by Chinese fishing vessels in the South China Sea every day. The Chinese fishing vessels operate around the
Union Banks Union Banks (Pagkakaisa Banks and Reefs) is a large drowned atoll in the center of Dangerous Ground in the Spratly Islands in South China Sea, west of the Philippine coast, containing islands and reefs whose ownership remains disputed and con ...
and
Thitu Island Thitu Island, also known as Pag-asa Island ( tl, Pulo ng Pag-asa, lit=Island of Hope; pag, Ilalo, having an area of , is the second largest of the naturally occurringNote that in 2014 the PRC embarked on a number of reclamation projects in the ...
(Pag-asa Islands). The overfishing causes the depletion of marine resources. During the same month, an estimated 240 Chinese vessels were illegally patrolling throughout the South China Sea. In November 2021, two Filipino military supply boats were blocked by three Chinese coast guard ships which also fired water cannons. The supply vessels were headed to the
Second Thomas Shoal Second Thomas Shoal, also known as Ayungin Shoal ( fil, Kulumpol ng Ayungin, lit=Cluster of he silver perch; vi, Bãi Cỏ Mây; and Mandarin ), is a shoal or atoll in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines. ...
which the Philippines claims to be within its exclusive economic zone. The atoll has been occupied by a Philippine military contingent since 1999. The incident was strongly condemned by Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin and Philippine President
Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...
.


See also

* West Philippine Sea * Exclusive economic zone of Vietnam *
Exclusive economic zone of Malaysia Malaysia claims an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of with from its shores. The EEZ includes much of the southern area of the South China Sea. Malaysia has the 29th longest coastline of . The coastline comprises two distinct parts of Malaysia. T ...


References


External links


"NAMRIA draws PH-Indonesia EEZ Boundary Map", ''Infomapper'' 2014, pages 4–5
{{World topic, title= Exclusive economic zones, Exclusive economic zone of, noredlinks=yes
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
Borders of the Philippines Economy of the Philippines China–Philippines relations