West Philippine Sea is the official designation by the Philippine government of eastern parts of

the South China Sea which are included in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. The term is
also sometimes incorrectly used to refer to the South China Sea as a whole.

Contents

 1Background
o 1.12016 PCA ruling
 2Legal scope
 3Usage
 4References

Background
The first use of the term "West Philippine Sea" by the Philippine government was as early as 2011
during the administration of then-President Benigno Aquino III.[1] The naming was intended as
symbolic gesture to dispute the China's sovereignty claim over the whole South China Sea.[2]
In September 2012, the Philippine government announced that it would start using the name to refer
to waters west of the Philippines as "West Philippine Sea" in government maps, other forms of
communication and documents.[1]

2016 PCA ruling

Main article: Philippines v. China
On 12 July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines. It clarified that
it would not "...rule on any question of sovereignty over land territory and would not delimit any
maritime boundary between the Parties".[3][4] The tribunal also ruled that China has "no historical
rights" based on the "nine-dash line" map.[3][4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Philippine_Sea