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The
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 claimed many territories throughout its history. These territories include 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 o ...
, portions of North Borneo, and the
Scarborough Shoal Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc (in Spanish language, Spanish), Panatag Shoal ( fil, Kulumpol ng Panatag, lit=serene cluster), Huangyan Island (Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin zh, c=黄岩岛, p=Huáng Yán Dǎo, l=yellow rock isl ...
.


Main territories claimed


South China Sea islands

The Philippine government claims
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 o ...
features locating within its EEZ in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
as part of its territory. The Philippine government' has designated its EEZ in the eastern portion of the South China Sea as the "
West Philippine Sea West Philippine Sea ( fil, Karagatang Kanlurang Pilipinas; abbreviated as WPS) is the official designation by the government of the Philippines to the parts of the South China Sea that are included in the country's exclusive economic zone. The ...
".


Scarborough Shoal

The
Scarborough Shoal Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc (in Spanish language, Spanish), Panatag Shoal ( fil, Kulumpol ng Panatag, lit=serene cluster), Huangyan Island (Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin zh, c=黄岩岛, p=Huáng Yán Dǎo, l=yellow rock isl ...
, more correctly described as a group of
islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
,
atolls An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can grow ...
, and
reefs A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...
rather than a
shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...
, is located in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
. The nearest landmass is
Palauig Palauig, officially the Municipality of Palauig ( tl, Bayan ng Palauig), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 39,784 people. The municipality of Palauig is the ...
town,
Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...
province,
Luzon Island Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political cen ...
, at . It is about west of
Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...
. The Philippines, 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 ...
and
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
claim it. In April 2012, the Philippines accused Chinese boats of fishing illegally and asked them to leave. The Philippines is asserting jurisdiction over the shoal based on the juridical criteria established by public international law on the lawful methods for the acquisition of sovereignty. Among the criteria (effective occupation, cession, prescription, conquest, and accretion), the Philippines said that the country "exercised both effective occupation and effective jurisdiction over Bajo de Masinloc since its independence". Thus, it claims to have erected flags on some islands and a lighthouse which is reported to the
International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...
. It also asserts that Philippine and US Naval Forces have used it as an impact range and that its Department of Environment and Natural Resources has conducted scientific,
topographic Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scie ...
and marine studies on the shoal, while Filipino fishermen regularly use it as a fishing ground and have always considered it their own. Likewise, multiple engagements and arrests of Chinese fishermen were already made at the shoal by the Philippine Navy for using
illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes pl ...
methods and catching of endangered sea species. The legal basis of the Philippine's assertion is based on the international law on acquisition of sovereignty. Thus, the Philippine government explains that its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) claim on the waters around Scarborough Shoal is different from the sovereignty exercised by the Philippines on the shoal itself. The Chinese basis for the claim is that the shoal would have been first discovered by Chinese in the 13th century and historically used by Chinese fishermen.


Spratly Islands

The Philippines claims fifty-two landforms in the Spratly Island group. Of these fifty-two landforms, only five islands, two cays, and three reefs are under Philippine occupation: the Flat Island ( Patag), the Loaita Island ( Kota), the Nanshan Island ''(''Lawak), the Thitu Island (
Pagasa Pagasa may refer to: * ''Pagasa'' (genus), an insect genus in the family Nabidae * PAGASA, an acronym for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration *"May Pagasa", a pen-name of José Rizal José Prot ...
), the West York Island ''(''
Likas Likas is a sub-district in the city of Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Likas is known for where shopping complex, government and private hospital, universities and colleges such as Universiti Malaysia Sabah and government administration centre is locate ...
), the Lankiam Cay ( Panata), the Northeast Cay (
Parola Parola is an urban area in the municipality of Hattula in Finland. It is located 110 kilometres north of Helsinki. Cities nearby include Hämeenlinna, Tampere, Lahti and Forssa. Many Finnish young men know Parola because of their 6 to 12 mont ...
), the Irving Reef (''Balagtas),'' the Commodore Reef (''Rizal''), and the Second Thomas (Ayungin) Reef. Some of the other landforms claimed but not occupied by the Philippines as of now are either occupied by Vietnam, China, Taiwan or Malaysia. Landforms in the Spratly Islands group that have not been claimed by the Philippines are typically those that are closer to Vietnam. The farthest landform the Philippines claims is Ladd Reef, which is currently occupied by Vietnam. The Philippines established a municipality in the province of
Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...
named Kalayaan after all the landforms found on Pag-asa island,


North Borneo

Between 1658 and 1700, the
Sultanate of Sulu The Sultanate of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Kasultanan sin Sūg'', كاسولتانن سين سوڬ; malay language, Malay: ''Kesultanan Sulu''; fil, Sultanato ng Sulu; Chavacano: ''Sultanato de Sulu/Joló''; ar, سلطنة سولك) ...
acquired the eastern part of the territory of Northern Borneo after helping the Bruneian forces settle a
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. The Sulu Archipelago then came under the control of the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
while the area of Northern Borneo was administered by the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
after the sultans of Brunei and Sulu agreed to cede their control. The western and eastern parts of Northern Borneo became known as
North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...
. In its process of decolonization beginning in 1946, Great Britain included Sabah in the newly formed Federation of
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. The Philippines, which had already achieved its independence from the United States, protested the
formation of Malaysia The Malaysia Agreement or the Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore (MA63) was the agreement which combined North Borneo, Sarawak, a ...
and filed claims for the whole territory of Northern Borneo under the administration of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the ninth president of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth vice president, serving from 19 ...
. However, during a meeting to plan
Maphilindo Maphilindo (for Malaya, the Philippines, and Indonesia), is a proposed, nonpolitical confederation of the three Southeast Asian countries in the Malay Archipelago. Background The original plan for a united state based on the concept of t ...
, the Philippine government stated that it had no objection to the formation of Malaysia, but claimed that the Sultan of Sulu wanted payment from the British government. The first
Malaysian Prime Minister The prime minister of Malaysia ( ms, Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label=Jawi alphabet, Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branc ...
,
Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...
, said he would return to
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...
to protest the Philippines' claim. Philippine President
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
later revived the claim and trained a number of Moro fighters to reclaim the territory in a secret mission named ''Operation Merdeka''. However, when the recruits gained knowledge of their true mission, most of them demanded to be returned home, as they did not want to kill their fellow Muslims in Sabah. Their request was denied; Marcos did not send back his soldiers but instead executed most of the fighters in an event known as the
Jabidah massacre The Jabidah massacre on March 18, 1968 was the purported assassinations or executions of Moro people, Moro army recruits who allegedly mutiny, mutinied upon learning the true nature of their mission. It is acknowledged as a major flashpoint tha ...
. This caused a southern Philippines insurgency to emerge, and the claim continued to be escalated by other claimants from the defunct Sultanate of Sulu. These claimants each attempted to give themselves legitimacy by self-proclaiming as the new Sultan of Sulu with support from politicians in the Philippine central government wishing to incorporate Sabah into the Philippines. Most new claimants and Philippine politicians today use the promised Malaysian lease payment as their main reason to take over the territory and also use it as a reason before the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
(ICJ).


See also

* Island of Palmas Case


References


Further reading

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Territories Claimed By The Philippines Foreign relations of the Philippines Territorial disputes of the Philippines