China Delimits Contested South China Sea Shoal in Dispute With Philippines

China Delimits Contested South China Sea Shoal in Dispute With Philippines
A Chinese coast guard vessel stays beside suspected Chinese militia ships near Thitu island, locally called Pag-asa island on Nov. 6, 2024. Aaron Favila/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:

BEIJING—China has published baselines for a contested shoal in the South China Sea it had seized from the Philippines, a move that’s likely to increase tensions over overlapping territorial claims.

The Foreign Ministry on Sunday posted online geographic coordinates for the baselines around Scarborough Shoal. A nation’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone are typically defined as the distance from the baselines.