Addressing the General Assembly, Ambassador Antonio Lagdameo, head of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations, has declared that Bajo de Masinloc is part of Philippine territory.

Lagdameo cited the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the irrevocable 2016 Arbitral Ruling on the South China Sea as the fundamental bases of the Philippines claim over what is also known as Scarborough Shoal.

The Philippine envoy informed the UN that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has recently signed two laws related to maritime zones and archipelagic sea lanes.

He also lamented the series of cases of bullying and harassment that China has resorted to in asserting its questionable claim over the Bajo de Masinloc.

“Only the Philippines, in the exercise of its sovereignty , has right to establish baselines and the breadth of the territorial sea around Bajo de Masiinloc, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” said Lagdameo.

At the same time Lagdameo chided China’s continued claim of ownership of the disputed territory.

“The response of China, which announced baselines around Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal - located west of Luzon, Philippines - and submitted a map of territorial sea baselines, including straight baselines and outer limits of the territorial se, along with a list of geographical coordinates of related points, constitutes a violation of UNCLOS and undermines the rules-based international system,” said Lagdameo.

in his statement during the General Assembly debate on “Oceans and the Law of the Sea,” Lagdameo underscored that Philippines is committed to observe peaceful means in resolving the dispute with China.

“We uphold the UN Charter and the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Resolution of Disputes in asserting our sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the South China Sea,” said the ambassador.