MANILA: The Philippines filed a claim with the UN on Saturday (Jun 15) to an extended continental shelf (ECS) in the South China Sea, a waterway where it has had increasingly confrontational maritime disputes with China.
“Today we secure our future by making a manifestation of our exclusive right to explore and exploit natural resources in our ECS entitlement,” Marshall Louis Alferez, foreign ministry assistant secretary for maritime and ocean affairs, said in a statement.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. Portions of the strategic waterway, where US$3 trillion worth of trade passes annually, are believed to be rich in oil and natural gas deposits, as well as fish stocks.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 found China’s sweeping claims have no legal basis, a ruling Beijing rejects.
China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday’s UN filing.
