PRESS RELEASE | Statement of NSA Secretary Eduardo M. Año on Bajo de Masinloc

 

Date 02-04-2024

Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) is an integral part of Philippine territory, being part of the Municipality of Masinloc, Zambales. 

It is located 124 nautical miles west of Luzon mainland and within 200 nautical miles of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the Philippine continental shelf.

Under international law, the Philippines exercises sovereign rights and jurisdiction over Bajo de Masinloc and the waters and continental shelf surrounding it. 

It is an important fishing ground for local fishermen from Zambales, Bataan, and Pangasinan fishermen. 

China’s repeated sovereignty claims over Bajo de Masinloc have no basis in international law or fact. 

International law is clear. 

China cannot, therefore, lawfully exercise sovereignty over it. 

As clearly stated by the 2016 arbitral award, UNCLOS superseded any ‘historic rights’ as claimed by China. 

Therefore, China cannot claim entitlements in areas of the ‘nine-dashed line,’ now ‘10-dashed line,’ that exceed UNCLOS limits.

In early Spanish maps of the Philippines, including the 1734 Pedro Murillo Velarde Map, Bajo de Masinloc was always part of PH territory. When the Spaniards ceded the Philippines to the US under the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Scarborough Reef was included in the census of islands done by the US Government. 

This was affirmed under the Treaty of Washington of 1900, where Spain ceded all other islands and places to which it had title or claim of title, even if not within the lines drawn by the Treaty of Paris. 

Since then, the Philippines has always exercised jurisdiction over the shoal by setting up light stations and navigational aids, regular visits by the Coast Guard, law enforcement operations, and geodetic surveys.

Since the Philippines exercises sovereign rights over Bajo de Masinloc and its surrounding waters under international law, only the Philippines can exercise maritime law enforcement functions to exclude other countries. 

No amount of statements or illegal actions by other states can alter these facts.