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SummaryThe conflict between China and the Philippines over the Spratly Islands continues to fester. China has decried what it sees as Philippine expansion in the South China Sea. At the same time, the Philippines pointed its finger at China and leveled the same charge against China. The Spratlys are claimed in whole, or part, by many other nations in the area as well. Despite the fact that China clearly dwarfs the Philippines militarily, the Philippines is the only country in South East Asia that can stand up to China. While there are valuable natural resources in the Spratlys, the more important issue is control of the South China Sea itself.AnalysisIt was reported in the March 3, 1999 edition of the Strait Times that the Philippines is redrawing its map boundaries. According to the article, the new map will place the Spratly Islands within the Philippines exclusive economic zone (EEZ). A country's EEZ extends 200 nautical miles from a country's baseline. The head of the Philippine National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), Enrique Macaspac, denied that the Philippines is redrawing the map as a way of claiming the Spratlys. "We are not expanding our territory. We are just redefining the baselines to determine the extent of our maritime zones," Macaspac told the Strait Times. It is nevertheless a good bet that those redefined baselines will include the Spratlys in the Philippines' maritime zone.This fiddling with maps and boundaries comes on the heels of a Chinese complaint the day before that Philippines is violating China's "indisputable sovereignty" over the Spratlys. According to the Chinese, the Philippines has been improving military facilities on islands in the Spratly Island chain.
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