Territories claimed by the Philippines

The Philippine government claims Spratly Islands features locating within its EEZ in the South China Sea as part of its territory.

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 and marine studies on the shoal, while Filipino fishermen regularly use it as a fishing ground and have always considered it their own.

[1] Likewise, multiple engagements and arrests of Chinese fishermen were already made at the shoal by the Philippine Navy for using illegal fishing methods and catching of endangered sea species.

The Philippines established a municipality in the province of Palawan named Kalayaan after all the landforms found on Pag-asa island, Between 1658 and 1700, the Sultanate of Sulu acquired the eastern part of the territory of Northern Borneo after helping the Bruneian forces settle a civil war.

The Philippines, which had already achieved its independence from the United States, protested the formation of Malaysia and filed claims for the whole territory of Northern Borneo under the administration of President Diosdado Macapagal.

[6] Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos later revived the claim and trained a number of Moro fighters to reclaim the territory in a secret mission named Operation Merdeka.

[7] 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.

Map showing the approximate area corresponding to the official extent of the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea . The area contains the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoal which are territories claimed by the Philippines.
Map of the British North Borneo with the yellow area covered the Philippine claim to eastern Sabah, presented by the Philippine Government to ICJ on 25 June 2001 [ 3 ]