Who really owns the Spratly Islands?

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) claims all of the Spratly Islands as part of China based on history and not UNCLOS. The PRC is a party to the UNCLOS, signing the agreement on 29 July 1994.

When was Spratly discovered?

1843
Named after the 19th-century British whaling captain Richard Spratly who sighted Spratly Island in 1843, the islands contain less than 2 km2 (490 acres) of naturally occurring land area, which is spread over an area of more than 425,000 km2 (164,000 sq mi).

Who owns pag asa Island?

the Philippines
The island has been occupied and administered by the Philippines since 1971. Being the second largest of the Spratly Islands, It is tightly protected by the Philippine forces. The island’s beaches have unused concrete bunkers which were built in the 1970s, a few years after the Philippine military base was established.

Do the Philippines have rights to own the Spratly Islands?

The Philippines claims the northeastern section of the Spratly Islands as the Kalayaan Island Group, in addition to the Scarborough Shoal, which it calls the Bajo de Masinloc. Malaysia claims part of the Kalayaan Island, while China and Taiwan claim the entirety of the island group.

Are the Spratly Islands in international waters?

What are the Spratly Islands? The sea is considered to be international waters; however the many countries in the area, namely Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and recently Indonesia, claim ownership of the various islands.

What is the meaning of Scarborough Shoal?

‘serene cluster’), Huangyan Island (Mandarin Chinese: 黄岩岛; pinyin: Huáng Yán Dǎo; lit. ‘yellow rock island’), and Democracy Reef, are two rocks in a shoal located between the Macclesfield Bank and Luzon within the Philippine EEZ in the South China Sea.

Is Scarborough Shoal part of Philippine territory?

Several official Philippine maps published by Spain and United States in 18th and 20th centuries show Scarborough Shoal as Philippine territory. The 18th-century map “Carta hydrographica y chorographica de las Islas Filipinas” (1734) shows the Scarborough Shoal then was named as Panacot Shoal.

Is South China Sea belong to Philippines?

In Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, it was long called the “South China Sea” (Dagat Timog Tsina in Tagalog, Laut China Selatan in Malay), with the part within Philippine territorial waters often called the “Luzon Sea”, Dagat Luzon, by the Philippines.