Claims of the Philppines and China on Scarborough Shoal

 Philippines
The Philippines has claimed many lands throughout its history. These include the
Spratly Islands, Sabah, Scarborough Shoal, Palmias or Miangas Island, the Sangir
Islands, Orchid Island, Marianas Islands and Caroline Islands.
The legal basis of the Philippine assertion is based on the international law on
acquisition of sovereignty. Thus, the Philippine government explains that its Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) claim on the waters around Scarborough Shoal is different from
the sovereignty exercised by the Philippines in the shoal itself.

 China
China reaffirmed its claim of sovereignty over the Zhongsha Islands in its 1992
Law on the territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone. China claims all the islands, reefs,
and shoals within a U-shaped line in the South China Sea drawn in 1947 as its territory.
Scarborough shoal lies within this area.

Resolutions of the United Nations on this issue

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hopes all maritime and territorial
disputes in the South China Sea may be "resolved peacefully", the Department of Foreign
Affairs (DFA)
Prior to that encounter, Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario met with UN
General Assembly President Vuk Jeremic, who also supported a peaceful settlement of regional
maritime and territorial disputes.
Philippines does not want to isolate China or force the resolution of the row over
Scarborough Shoal.
UNCLOS is an international treaty that sets limits on how much of neighbouring seas a nation
can consider as their territorial waters or exclusive economic zone.
The Philippines and ASEAN have always invoked UNCLOS in discussions on how to
resolve the dispute over Scarborough Shoal.
China is a signatory to the treaty, but experts say its claim of essentially all of the South
China Sea, home to vital shipping lanes and believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits, would
fail under its provisions.