Scarborough Shoal

Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc is a form of rock wherein some of the rocks are above the water during high tide and below the water during low tide. It is considered an island because of the Article 121 of the United Nation Convention on the Law Of the Sea(UNCLOS), “an island is a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide”

In connection, according to DFA, Bajo de Masinloc is located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales and is within the 200 nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines. Also, the Spratly Island is just few kilometers away from the province of Palawan.

With this, I conclude that the sovereign rights of Masinloc and Spratly is within the Philippine jurisdiction because as stated in UNCLOS Article 76(1) Part VI, “The continental shelf of a coastal State comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance.”  And in Article 55(1.a) Part V, “In the exclusive economic zone, the coastal State has: (a) sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds.”

And as for the claim of China, the public international law then states than “historical claims are not historical titles.” And for a historical claim to mature into a historical title, a mere showing of long usage is not enough. Therefore, the China doesn’t have the sovereign right to these islands especially that it’s not part of their EEZ as stated in Article 57 Part V, “The exclusive economic zone shall not extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.”

With the power of the UNCLOS, there’s no doubt that the said sovereign rights will be given to the Philippines because as far as I know, even China agreed and signed the UNCLOS.