The Philippine government has not yet released an updated official map of the country. Despite this, a 2009 map has been falsely presented as the newly issued map following the recent enactment of the maritime zones laws and misinterpreted to claim it annexes Sabah.
The thumbnail of a vlog posted by Good News Philippines on Nov. 8 displayed what it claimed was the country’s latest official map. The text overlay above the map reads:
Bagong mapa ng Pinas. Sabah at WPS ay atin (New map of the Philippines, Sabah and WPS are ours).
A Google reverse image search shows that Good News Philippines used an old and cropped version of the official Philippine map produced in 2009 by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) based on the Republic Act 9522, which defined baselines of the country’s territorial seas. The map appeared in a 2011 University of Wollongong study on Philippine's political boundaries.
The latest version of the Philippine map will be released by NAMRIA once the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 12064, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, and RA 12065, the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, are issued, NAMRIA Administrator Peter Tiangco told a Malacañang press briefing on Nov. 8.
Good News Philippines also misrepresented the green border, suggesting it marked the official maritime boundary of the Philippines when, in reality, it depicts the maximum extent of the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
States have sovereign rights over natural resources within their EEZ, which extends 200 nautical miles beyond their territorial shores, according to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. When countries’ EEZs overlap, UNCLOS leaves it up to states to delineate their boundaries by tracing the median point between their shores or upholding historical treaties.
The maritime borders between the Philippines and Malaysia were drawn in the 1930 Convention between the United States and the United Kingdom, which represented their respective colonies at the time.
Malaysia’s 1979 map and the Philippines’ 2009 map recognize the 1930 Boundaries Treaty as a basis for their maritime demarcation.
The Philippines' dormant claim over Sabah remains unresolved. Sabah was historically a dependency of the Sulu Sultanate until the British North Borneo Company took control of the region in 1878. The UK annexed the region in 1946 before it became part of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 along with former British colonies Sarawak, Singapore and Malaya.
The Philippine government asserts the Sulu Sultanate merely leased Sabah to British North Borneo Co. The Malaysian government, on the other hand, maintains that the Sulu Sultanate ceded its rights over Sabah to the British, legitimizing its incorporation into Malaysia.
Although a 2011 ruling by the Philippine Supreme Court upheld the government's claim over Sabah, neither of the twin maritime laws signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Nov. 8 explicitly advocate for its annexation.
Malaysia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, however, said it will be sending a protest note against the Philippines, alleging the two laws reiterate Manila’s claim over Sabah.
The YouTube video has garnered 229,000 views, 7,100 likes and 836 comments, while its reel version obtained 1,700 reactions, 104 shares and 166 comments as of writing. Good News Philippines, created in July 2018, has 508,000 subscribers on YouTube and 360,000 followers on Facebook. (CC)