As far as I can recall, the issue regarding the West Philippine sea or more commonly known as Spratlys has

been
existing ever since.Different countries in the South East Asian region has been claiming the rights oro#nership of the
said group of islands. ome sa! that this is due to its perfect strategic location for purposes such as #arfare and
economics. It isalso suggested or claimed to ha(e large deposits of oil under#ater, #hich isa (alua&le commodit!
in our times toda!. -an! reasons could arise as to #h!countries are ghting for this tin! piece of marine area

Six nations – China and five ASEAN countries, including the Philippines –
have conflicting territorial and maritime claims on the South China Sea.

Justice Antonio Carpio, in his primer "The South China Sea Dispute" said
the primary driver of the dispute in the South China Sea is the 9-dashed Lines
Map adopted by the Kuomintang Government in China in December 1947.

China is claiming “indisputable sovereignty” to all the islands and waters

enclosed by the nine U-shaped lines that enclose 85.7 percent of the entire
South China Sea.

Carpio said China's claim to these waters, equivalent to 3 million square

kilometers out of the sea's 3.5 million square kilometers surface area of the
South China Sea, has triggered several disputes that include, among others:

 territorial disputes in the Spratly Islands between the Philippines, China,

Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei;
 territorial dispute between the Philippines and China over Scarborough
Shoal, and
 maritime dispute between China on one side and on the other side, the
Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia as these
countries resist China’s 9-dashed Lines claim as it encroaches on their
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZs).

These EEZs are covered by the United Nation's 1982 Convention of the Law
of the Sea (UNCLOS).

On July 12, a UN arbitration tribunal is expected to issue a ruling on one of

these disputes – the maritime case filed by the Philippines against China
before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague – on whether
the Philippines' rights to its EEZ under UNCLOS were violated by China.

The Philippines' EEZ is part of the "West Philippine Sea" that includes:

 Luzon Sea;
  Kalayaan Group of Islands in Palawan, and
 the Panatag Shoal (called internationally as Scarborough Shoal and
Huangyan Island by China).

Panatag Shoal's old Spanish name was Bajo de Masinloc, meaning lower
Masinloc. It is located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales in the South China
Sea and is part of the municipality of Masinloc, Zambales.

The shoal, made up of a triangular chain of rocks and coral reefs, is a fertile
fishing ground located within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

However, China took control of Panatag Shoal in 2012 and built an artificial
island in the Fiery Cross Reef, called Kagitingan Reef by the Philippines.

China also built a 55-meter-high lighthouse in Subi Reef, called Zamora Reef
by the Philippines.

In 2013, the Philippines brought the maritime dispute before the PCA because
of China's actions. China, however, insisted that it has historic rights that
predates UNCLOS, citing the 9-dashed lines claim.

See the infographic below for a comparison of the Philippines' claim based on
UNCLOS, and China's claim based on the 9-dashed lines map