The 10-dash line map that Beijing released on Aug. 28 shows the demarcation of its sweeping claims to nearly the entire South China Sea.
SAN ANTONIO, Zambales — The fisherfolk group Pamalakaya on Friday rejected the 10-dash line map that shows China’s boundaries in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The Ministry of Natural Resources of the People’s Republic of China released on Monday the 2023 edition of the standard map of China during the celebration of Surveying and Mapping Publicity Day and the National Mapping Awareness Publicity Week in Deqing County, Zhejiang Province, where the United Nations Global Geographic Information Knowledge and Innovation Center is located.
Bobby Roldan, Pamalakaya vice chair for Luzon, told the Inquirer that what should prevail is the ruling of the international tribunal based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), which recognizes the country’s ownership of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“China’s latest demarcation doesn’t have any bearing on our legal, historical, and political claim over our territorial waters, not especially for the Filipino fisherfolk, who continue to assert our national sovereignty,” said Roldan, a fisherman in Masinloc town.
Thousands of fishermen in Masinloc have deserted the contested Scarborough Shoal, which for decades served as their traditional fishing ground, after experiencing harassment from the Chinese Coast Guard in recent years.
The shoal is located inside the country’s 370-kilometer EEZ. but China continued to lay claim to Philippine territory.
On Thursday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) released a statement also rejecting the map, saying that China’s attempt to legitimize its purported sovereignty and jurisdiction over the country’s features and maritime zones has no basis under international law.
The DFA called on China to act responsibly and abide by its obligations under Unclos and the final and binding 2016 Arbitral Award. INQ
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