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Facts:
Antecedents
The Philippines' bilateral dispute with China over the shoal began on April 30,
1997 when Filipino naval ships prevented Chinese boats from approaching
the shoal. On June 5 of that year, Domingo Siazon, who was then the
Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs, testified in front of the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the United States Senate that the Shoal was "a new
issue on overlapping claims between the Philippines and China".
Philippines v. China is a pending arbitration case unilaterally brought by
the Philippines concerning certain issues in the South China Sea including the
legality of China's "nine-dotted line" claim over the South China Sea under
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). On 19
February 2013, China officially refused to participate in the arbitration
because, according to China, its 2006 declaration under article 298 covers
the disputes brought by the Philippines and that this case
concerns sovereignty, thus it deems the arbitral tribunal formed for the case
has no jurisdiction over the issue. On 7 December 2014, a position paper was
published by China to elaborate its position. On October 29, 2015,
the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled that it has jurisdiction over
the case, taking up seven of the 15 submissions made by Manila.
The Scarborough Shoal an area that barely consists of land and is mostly
made up of uninhabited rocky outcrops, atolls, sandbanks, and reefs have
been the center of controversy. The reason this particular section of the
Pacific Ocean is valuable to so many different states is because of the rich
resources that are found there including: oil, natural gas, minerals, and fish.
CHINAS CLAIM
The People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan) claim that
Chinese people discovered the shoal centuries ago and that there is a long
history of Chinese fishing activity in the area. The shoal lies within the ninedotted line drawn by China on maps marking its claim to islands and relevant
waters consistent with United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS) within the South China Sea. An article published in May 2012
in the PLA Daily states that Chinese astronomer Guo Shoujing went to the
island in 1279, under the Yuan dynasty, as part of an empire-wide survey
called "Measurement of the Four Seas" ( ). In 1979 historical
geographer Han Zhenhua () was among the first scholars to claim that
the point called "Nanhai" (literally, "South Sea") in that astronomical survey
referred to Scarborough Shoal. In 1980 during a conflict with Vietnam for
sovereignty over the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands), however, the Chinese
government issued an official document claiming that "Nanhai" in the 1279
survey was located in the Paracels. Historical geographer Niu Zhongxun
China Sea and Philippine Islands with the Archipelagos of Felicia and Soloo",
Scarborough shoal and 3 other shoals Galit, Panacot and Lumbay were all
shown independently. Li also pointed out that the three shoals were also
shown on Chinese maps which were published in 1717.
In 1957, the Philippine government conducted an oceanographic survey of
the area and together with the US Navy force based in then U.S. Naval Base
Subic Bay in Zambales, used the area as an impact range for defense
purposes. An 8.3 meter high flag pole flying a Philippine flag was raised in
1965. An iron tower that was to serve as a small lighthouse was also built
and operated the same year. In 1992, the Philippine Navy rehabilitated the
lighthouse and reported it to the International Maritime Organization for
publication in the List of Lights. As of 2009, the military-maintained
lighthouse is non-operational.
Historically, the Philippine boundary has been defined by its 3 treaties, Treaty
of Paris (1898), Treaty of Washington (1900) and "Convention regarding the
boundary between the Philippine Archipelago and the State of North Borneo".
Many analysts consider that the 1900 Treaty of Washington concerned only
the islands of Sibutu and Cagayan de Sulu., but a point of view argued that
Scarborough Shoal has been transferred to the United States based on the
Treaty of Washington (1900),ignoring the fact that the cession documents
from the United States to the Philippines did not have any reference to the
Scarborough Shoal.
The DFA asserts that the basis of Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction over
the rock features of Bajo de Masinloc are not premised on the cession by
Spain of the Philippine archipelago to the United States under the Treaty of
Paris, and argues that the matter that the rock features of Bajo de Masinloc
are not included or within the limits of the Treaty of Paris as alleged by China
is therefore immaterial and of no consequence. Philippine sovereignty and
jurisdiction over the rocks of Bajo de Masinloc is likewise not premised on
proximity or the fact that the rocks are within its 200-NM EEZ or CS under the
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Although the Philippines
necessarily exercise sovereign rights over its EEZ and CS, nonetheless, the
reason why the rock features of Bajo de Masinloc are Philippine territories is
anchored on other principles of public international law.
President Ferdinand Marcos, by virtue of the Presidential Decree No. 1596
issued on June 11, 1978 asserted that islands designated as the Kalayaan
Island Group and comprising most of the Spratly Islands are subject to the
sovereignty of the Philippines, and by virtue of the Presidential Decree No.
1599 issued on June 11, 1978 claimed an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up
to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the baselines from which their territorial
sea is measured.
In 2009, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo enacted the Philippine Baselines
Law of 2009 (RA 9522). The new law classified the Kalayaan Island Group
and the Scarborough Shoal as a regime of islands under the Republic of the
Philippines.
Philippines prayer
The Philippines arbitration case against China is solely a maritime dispute
and does not involve any territorial dispute. The Philippines is asking the
tribunal if Chinas 9-dashed lines can negate the Philippines EEZ as