The Philippines is an archipelago that comprises 7,641 islands, and with a total land area of 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi), it is the world's fifth largest island country. The eleven largest islands contain 95% of the total land area. The largest of these islands is Luzon at about 105,000 square kilometers (40,541 sq mi). The next largest island is Mindanao at about 95,000 square kilometers (36,680 sq mi). The archipelago is around 800 kilometers (500 mi) from the Asian mainland and is located between Taiwan and Borneo.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. As of May 2023, 168 countries and the European Union are parties.
Territorial waters are informally an area of water where a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf. In a narrower sense, the term is often used as a synonym for the territorial sea.
An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind. EEZ does not define the ownership of any maritime features within the EEZ.
Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, Huangyan Island, Minzhu Jiao and Panatag Shoal, are two skerries (rocks) located between Macclesfield Bank to the west and Luzon to the east. Luzon is 220 kilometres (119 nmi) away and the nearest landmass. The atoll is a disputed territory claimed by the Republic of the Philippines through the 1734 Velarde map, while the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan) claim it through the disputed nine-dash line. The atoll's status is often discussed in conjunction with other territorial disputes in the South China Sea such as those involving the Spratly Islands, and the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff. It was administered by the Philippines as part of its Zambales province, until 2012, when a standoff was initiated by China through the use of warships against fishing boats, resulting in effective capture by the Chinese maritime forces.
Kalayaan, officially the Municipality of Kalayaan, is a 5th class municipality in the South China Sea under the jurisdiction of the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 193 people making it the least populated town in the Philippines.
In Canadian law, Canadian Internal Waters are the waters "on the landward side of the baselines of the territorial sea of Canada."
This is a list of points in the Philippines that are farther north, south, east, or west than any other location in the country. Also included are extreme points in elevation, extreme distances, and other points of geographic interest.
The Free Territory of Freedomland was a micronation that covered the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea from 1956 to 1974. It was established by Tomás Cloma.
The Malaysia–Philippines border is a maritime boundary located in the South China, Sulu and Celebes Seas. It separates the Malaysian state of Sabah, which is on the island of Borneo, and the Sulu Islands of the southern Philippines.
The Philippine Rise, formerly known as Benham Rise, is an extinct volcanic ridge located in the Philippine Sea approximately 250 kilometers (160 mi) east of the northern coastline of Dinapigue, Isabela. The rise has been known to the people of Catanduanes as Kalipung-awan as early as the precolonial era of the Philippines, which literally means "loneliness from an isolated place".
The territorial waters of Indonesia are defined according to the principles set out in Article 46 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Their boundary consists of straight lines ("baselines") linking 195 coordinate points located at the outer edge of the archipelago ("basepoints").
The sovereignty of the Philippines refers to the status of the Philippines as an independent nation. This article covers sovereignty transitions relating to the Philippines, with particular emphasis on the passing of sovereignty from Spain to the United States in the Treaty of Paris (1898), signed on December 10, 1898, to end the Spanish–American War. US President William McKinley asserted the United States' sovereignty over the Philippines on December 21, 1898, through his Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation.
The Spratly Islands dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute between Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam concerning "ownership" of the Spratly Islands, a group of islands and associated "maritime features" located in the South China Sea. The dispute is characterized by diplomatic stalemate and the employment of military pressure techniques in the advancement of national territorial claims. All except Brunei occupy some of the maritime features.
West Philippine Sea is the official designation by the government of the Philippines to the parts of the South China Sea that are included in the country's exclusive economic zone. The term is also sometimes incorrectly used to refer to the entire South China Sea.
An archipelagic state is an island country that consists of an archipelago. The designation is legally defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In various conferences, the Bahamas, Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines are the five original sovereign states that obtained approval in the UNCLOS signed in Montego Bay, Jamaica on 10 December 1982 and qualified as the archipelagic states.
A twenty-three-part referendum was held in Palau on 4 November 2008 alongside the country's general elections. Voters were asked questions on requirements of citizenship to hold office, government provision of primary school and health care, the definition of marriage and term limits for Parliament. Only the proposal permitting naturalization for certain adoptees failed to obtain the requisite majority of the vote and majority in 3/4th of the states.
The article covers events that are related to the South China Sea dispute. In the South China Sea, historically China, Japan and France have disputed over Spratly and Paracel Islands. Presently, the Paracel Islands are disputed among China (PRC), Taiwan (ROC), and Vietnam, while Pratas Island is contested between China and Taiwan. Additionally, the Spratly Islands are subject to intertwined claims by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei. Because of this, numerous countries with territorial disputes have had conflicts in the South China Sea since the past.
The borders of Indonesia include land and maritime borders with Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor, as well as shared maritime boundaries with Australia, India, Palau, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
