The Philippines on Wednesday rejected a new map drawn up by China that puts offshore territories also claimed by Manila within Chinese “national boundaries,” saying such a move demonstrates Beijing's expansionist ambitions in the region.
GMA News Online first published the report on China’s new 10-dash line map on July 26, 2013.
The Philippine government protested the map on June 7, 2013 through a note verbale or diplomatic note to the Chinese Embassy. The note “protests the reference to those dash lines as China's national boundaries" and called it a violation of international law.
The new Chinese map, which was first published in January 2013 by China's state mapping authority Sinomap Press, features 10 dashes—one dash more than China's previous demarcation—to mark a huge swath of the South China Sea in a tongue-shaped encirclement as Chinese territory.
Nine of the dashes are in the South China Sea, while the tenth has been placed near Taiwan, purportedly to signify it as a Chinese province.
"We reiterate that such a publication only shows China's unreasonably expansive claim that is clearly contrary to international law and UNCLOS," Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said in a text message.
UNCLOS stands for United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a 1982 accord signed by 163 countries—including the Philippines and China—that aims to govern the use of offshore areas and sets territorial limits of coastal states.
"It is precisely such ambitious expansionism that is causing the tensions in the South China Sea," Jose said.
Coloma: Map not good for regional stability
Malacañang on Wednesday said China's new map is not good for regional stability, but noted that the Philippines still wishes to resolve the territorial row peacefully.
"While it is apparent that this move does not promote the cause of regional stability, we reiterate our focus on diplomatic, political and legal options that will bring about the peaceful resolution of disputes on conflicting claims to maritime entitlements in the West Philippine Sea," Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement.
Asked if the Philippines will contest the new map, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told GMA News Online that the country's arbitration case already questions the "propriety" of the nine-dash line and they expect the tribunal to rule on the issue.
"Apparently, their old maps weren't historical enough to prove their claim that they had to draw new maps to prove their old claims," he said.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan have been contesting China's massive claim on nearly the entirety of the South China Sea, which is home to vital shipping lanes and where undersea oil and natural gas deposits have been discovered in several areas.
The Philippine government has adopted the name West Philippine Sea to refer to parts of the South China Sea within its territory that are also being claimed by China.
China rejects the claims of its smaller Asian neighbors, saying it has "indisputable sovereignty" over the entire waters.
Manila disputed this claim before a Netherlands-based tribunal operating under the UNCLOS. The Philippines asked the court to declare China's massive territorial claim illegal and invalid.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/367304/news/nation/phl-new-10-dash-line-map-shows-china-s-expansionist-ambitions
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