Hindi Ito Marites: 4 historic maps show West Philippine Sea is ours

Hindi Ito Marites Hindi Ito Marites: 4 historic maps show West Philippine Sea is ours Aug 1, 2026 3:12 PM PHT Marites Dañguilan Vitug, Rappler.com Listen to this article Upgrade to listen Powered by Speechify Play Video

They include areas China claims aggressively, i.e. Scarborough Shoal and the Spratlys

Is Bajo de Masinloc a.k.a. Scarborough Shoal really part of the Philippines? How about the Kalayaan Group of Islands, a.k.a. the Spratlys?

Does history provide any evidence that these places are part of Philippine patrimony?

Yes. Rappler editor-at-large Marites Vitug cuts through the noise and shows us four time-honored maps that corroborate the Philippine claim to the strategic and resource-rich maritime features being claimed by China. – Rappler.com

Writer, presenter: Marites Vitug
Videographer, video editor: Franz Lawrence de Castro
Producer: JC Gotinga
Supervising producer: Beth Frondoso

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Marites Dañguilan Vitug @maritesdvitug Marites is one of the Philippines’ most accomplished journalists and authors. For close to a decade, Vitug – a Nieman fellow – edited 'Newsbreak' magazine, a trailblazer in Philippine investigative journalism. Her recent book, 'Rock Solid: How the Philippines Won Its Maritime Case Against China,' has become a bestseller. More from Marites Dañguilan Vitug

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