Lawmakers Move To Let US Ally Claim China’s Artificial Islands

A bill to challenge the ownership of China’s artificial islands in Southeast Asia’s contested waters is moving through the Congress of the Philippines, an ally the United States is treaty-bound to defend in the event of an attack.

An amendment approved on Wednesday by the Senate in Manila would allow the Philippine government to lay claim to any man-made feature that falls within its exclusive economic zone. That could include at least three reefs in the disputed Spratly Islands archipelago that have been fully militarized by China in the past decade.

An EEZ refers to waters that extend 200 nautical miles beyond a country’s coastline, sometimes called the “baseline.” Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, nations do not have sovereignty over these waters, but are granted a sovereign right to exploit the natural resources within them.

Beijing cites vague “historical rights” to justify its claim to all of the land features and surrounding maritime zones in the energy-rich South China Sea, an assertion that is at odds with the positions of at least half a dozen neighboring states, all of which rely on the waters to boost their livelihoods and economic prosperity.

In the Philippines, Senate Bill 2492, also known as the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, seeks to further clarify geographical boundaries in the area as well as give the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the legal powers to enforce exclusive rights in its EEZ, or what Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.

“All artificial islands constructed within the Philippine EEZ shall belong to the Philippine government,” read a line added to the bill by its main sponsor, Sen. Francis Tolentino.

The amendment, described by Philippine Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri as “very good,” passed without opposition, allowing lawmakers to continue their deliberations over the text, which received public backing from Marcos shortly after its introduction last July.

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“Understanding and upholding maritime zones law is not merely a legal obligation, but a paramount necessity for our nation’s security, economic prosperity and environmental well-being,” Tolentino said in November when his bill moved from committee onto the Senate floor.

“The Philippine exclusive economic zone and territorial waters are not just lines on the map. They are the lifeblood of our maritime activities. They provide us with exclusive rights to exploit and manage marine resources, including fisheries, minerals and energy,” he said.

The language in Tolentino’s bill sticks closely to the provisions of 1982’s UNCLOS, ratified by the Philippines in 1984, and which China formally approved in 1996.

In 2016, the Law of the Sea Treaty became the authority under which an arbitral tribunal in The Hague rejected China’s ownership claims in the South China Sea. Beijing never recognized the ruling in Philippines v. China and continues to argue that its processes were flawed.

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Tolentino said last year that his bill would “provide the country with a strong diplomatic negotiating tool in pursuing our interests.”

The senator’s office did not immediately respond to a written request for comment before publication.

Diplomatic protests by successive presidents in Manila—as well as their counterparts in Washington—have failed to stop China’s island building in the Spratlys, where aerial photographs show reclaimed land at Mischief, Subi and Fiery Cross reefs, hosting Chinese military barracks, roads, airfields and radar domes.

More urgent, however, is the vulnerability of other Manila-held features in the area, such as Second Thomas Shoal, where resupply missions to a rusting warship-turned-outpost have faced stiff opposition from Beijing, which aims to slowly erode the Philippines’ control, observers say.

Following China’s seizure of nearby Scarborough Shoal in a standoff in 2012, the potential loss of another territory would further deny Philippine fisherfolk access to traditional fishing grounds in exclusive-use waters recognized under international maritime law.

China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to Newsweek‘s request for comment, but its Defense Ministry last month said it would not allow any moves by the Philippines to fortify existing outposts in the Spratlys.

The hard-line positions in both capitals—and the gaping power gap between them—also pose a policy dilemma for the U.S., which since 2019 has publicly extended its decades-old Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines to include attacks in the vast South China Sea.

It is yet another potential flashpoint in a region described by American leaders as an absolute priority, despite continued U.S. security commitments in Europe and the Middle East.