Manila calls for extension of Philippine continental shelf

The Philippines has asked the United Nations for recognition of its sovereign rights over a continental shelf off its coast in the South China Sea, a maritime area claimed by Beijing and Manila. In recent months, tensions between Manila and Beijing have reached unprecedented levels, and incidents have multiplied.

This announcement comes as China unveiled on Saturday a series of rules which authorize its coast guard to detain foreigners without trial in the South China Sea, for a period of up to sixty days. Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea despite the rights of the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia, ignoring a 2016 international judgment against it.

Facing China

“Today, we secure our future by manifesting our exclusive right to the exploration and exploitation of natural resources in our ECS area of ​​competence”, Marshall Louis Alferez, assistant secretary of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs for Ocean and Maritime Affairs, said in a statement. In its request filed on Saturday, Manila claims the right “to establish the outer limits of its continental shelf” up to 648 kilometers off the western island of Palawan, the maximum permitted by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“The seabed and subsoil that extends from our archipelago to the maximum limit authorized by UNCLOS contain significant potential resources that will benefit our nation and our people for generations to come”, added Louis Alferez. For its part, China, to strengthen its territorial claims, deploys boats and fast craft to patrol the waters and reefs of the South China Sea, and has built artificial islands that it has militarized in waters close to Philippines.

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Chinese coast guard vessels used water cannons on several occasions, damaging several Philippine vessels and injuring crew members. Contacted by AFP, the Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately react. Manila said its request for continental shelf expansion comes after more than 15 years of scientific research into the West Philippine Sea, as it is locally known.

This area includes waters of the South China Sea that are part of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines. In 2012, the United Nations recognized the Philippines’ exclusive economic rights to Benham Rise, a volcanic ridge off its eastern coast, as part of its continental shelf.