February 6, 2026 | 12:00am
Trolls attacked my two columns last week: “While aggressing our seas, China calls us troublemakers,” Jan. 28, and “Here’s why China is on military, propaganda offensive against Phl,” Jan. 30.
The trolls use Filipino-sounding names. Half of them echoed Communist China’s lie that Philippine EEZ has no coordinates. Others belittled Bongbong Marcos in comparison to predecessor Rody Duterte. Last Dec. 20, Rappler exposed China’s “funding of Davao-based trolls.”
I don’t care about their partisan beef with BBM and idolizing of Duterte. But they need straightening out about Philippine EEZ:
• UNCLOS 1982 grants littoral states up to 200 nautical miles EEZ. Philippines and China are signatories.
• To comply with UNCLOS, Congress amended the 1961 Baselines Law and Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s PD 1599 of 1978. RA 9522 of 2009 connected 101 basepoints with 100 baselines.
• Basepoints are the outermost land features of the Philippine archipelago. Longitude and latitude coordinates are referenced from World Geodetic System of 1984.
• Starting with northernmost Amianan Island in Batanes (21°6’57.73”N, 121°57’27.71”E), baselines go southeastward to Balintang Island (19°57’38.19”N, 122°9’46.32”E) and Bigan Point (18°18’35.30”N, 122°20’19.07”E) in Cagayan, onto three Ditolong Points (17°7’16.30”N, 122°31’28.34”E; 17°6’14.79”N, 122°31’43.84”E; 17°5’51.31”N, 122°31’42.66”E) in Isabela, and so on.
Easternmost is Pusan Point (7°17’19.80”N, 126°36’18.26”E) in Caraga, Davao Oriental. Southernmost is Frances Reef (4°24’53.84”N, 119°14’50.71”E) in Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi. Westernmost is Balabac Great Reef (7°48’30.69”N, 116°59’39.18”) in Palawan.
• President Noynoy Aquino in 2012 issued AO 29 naming West Philippine Sea. WPS consists of Luzon Sea and waters around, within and adjacent to Kalayaan (Spratly) Isles and Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal).
• The Hague Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 upheld Philippine baselines and the consequent EEZ 200 miles outward.
• Again to comply with UNCLOS, Congress enacted in 2024 the Maritime Zones Law. RA 12064 listed the coordinates of Philippine archipelagic maritime zones. The zones consist of internal waters, archipelagic waters, 12-nautical mile territorial sea, contiguous zone, EEZ and continental shelf. Aside from 200-mile EEZ, it designated the additional 150-mile extended continental shelf. The eastern ECS covers Philippine (Benham) Rise.
• China’s nine-dash line doesn’t have scientific coordinates. It is merely penciled on its maps of South China Sea, encompassing the West Philippine Sea, Vietnam’s East Sea and Brunei and Malaysia’s northern waters. Without coordinates, the nine dashes are movable. China, in fact, extended it to 10-, then 11-dash line to encompass Taiwan.
• Eratosthenes devised longitudes and latitudes in 3rd century BC. Subsequent astronomers and mariners improved it. John Harrison’s invention of a chronometer was recognized in 1773 as accurate pinpoint of longitude or time at sea. A decade later, advanced navies agreed on coordinates for cartography.
A Filipino lawyer-senator said the West Philippine Sea is fictitious and has no coordinates. He’s ignorant of UNCLOS, Hague ruling, successive Philippine laws and presidential pronouncements. Trolls are free to quote him and look stupid.
Rappler reported China’s funding of trolls with seemingly Filipino names and social media engagements. They’re made to look like teachers, students or construction workers posting online ordinary activities. But they’re all fake.
The trolls promote Beijing’s propaganda. They defend China’s nine-dash line and downplay sea intrusions and bullying of fishermen. They were carefully curated online accounts, created by a Manila marketing communication firm hired by the Chinese embassy.
The China trolls swarm with negative comments the websites of Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Navy, AFP and National Maritime Council. Also online posts of academics, newspapers and columnists that present the truth about WPS and expose China’s lies.
China embassy deputy spokesman Wei Guo has been denounced as a “troll in suit.” He claimed on Facebook that UNCLOS has no concept of “maritime zone” and only provides for territorial sea and EEZ.
Consisting of scholars, the Institute for Maritime and Ocean Affairs disputed him: “UNCLOS expressly establishes multiple distinct sea area regimes, each with different legal consequences – not only territorial sea and EEZ.
“UNCLOS provides contiguous zone (Article 33), continental shelf (Art. 76-77), high seas (Part VII) and ‘the Area’ (Part XI).
“UNCLOS uses the term ‘maritime zones’ (Art. 147.1.c). These zones are not rhetorical. Each allocates different rights and jurisdiction.
“The Hague Arbitral Award applies this zoning to identify which maritime entitlements exist under UNCLOS and which conduct is lawful or unlawful in each zone.
“[Wei] rejects long-settled legal reality and even contradicts China’s official posture: ‘China has enacted domestic laws claiming not only a territorial sea and contiguous zone, but also an EEZ and a continental shelf.’ A spox who denies the existence of maritime zones while China asserts those same zones is at best misleading the public and at worst speaking in willful disregard of China’s own position.”
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