(Updated: April 16, 9:38 a.m.) “Sa wakas.”
This was the sentiment shared by many Filipinos online after learning that Google Maps displays the label, West Philippine Sea, to refer to the waters west of the Philippine archipelago.
News organizations noticed the label display on Monday, April 14.
“West Philippine Sea. Salamat, Google. Salamat, Pnoy,” journalist Raffy Tima said, referring to the late former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, who officially instituted using the term in 2012.
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“Ayan, ‘di na nila masasabi na wala sa mapa,” another online user wrote with a laughing emoji.
“ABOUT TIME,” a different Pinoy commented.
“Thank you, Google!” exclaimed another X user with a heart-eyed emoji.
“AS IT SHOULD,” a different Filipino said.
“SA WAKASSSSSSSSS, PLEASE CONTINUE TO DO SOOO,” another X user wrote.
“Rightfully so! The West Philippine Sea is ours! #AtinAngWestPhilippineSea,” a different Pinoy said.
Another online user claimed to have noticed the label display on the platform even before it was reported by news outlets.
“Ohhh, I remember browsing around Maps for the last couple of weeks and I found this. Cool stuff!!” the X user wrote.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Google told Interaksyon that “both” labels have “always been there.”
“The West Philippine Sea has always been labeled on Google Maps. We recently made this label easier to see at additional zoom levels,” the spokesperson said.
The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas along the western side of the Philippine archipelago within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The EEZ is a sea zone where the coastal country has sovereign rights over the sea’s exploration and use of its marine resources. This is 200 nautical miles measured from the baselines of the territorial sea.
Based on a 2012 administrative order signed by Aquino, these are the Luzon Sea, “as well as the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal.”
In 2013, his administration questioned the legality of China’s sweeping claims and activities in the South China Sea by initiating an arbitration under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) dispute settlement procedures.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) under the United Nations ruled in favor of the Philippines, declaring that China’s nine-dash line claim over the disputed waters had no legal basis.
The international tribunal pointed out that there was no evidence Beijing had exercised exclusive control over the disputed waters or its resources.
The PCA also found that China violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights in its EEZ by interfering with Philippine fishing and petroleum exploration, constructing artificial islands, and failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone.
The Philippines was the first country to challenge China’s expansive claims over the disputed waters.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore also have overlapping claims in the South China Sea.
