Philippine President Marcos passed two maritime laws last week in a move that Manila says will strengthen its sovereignty over waters within the country’s archipelago and the South China Sea. Using standards set forth by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed two laws reaffirming the extent of his country’s maritime territories and right to resources, including in the South China Sea, where the new laws clash with Beijing’s extensive territorial claims.

The Philippines has protested China’s baselines around the disputed Scarborough Shoal, as tensions between the two nations build up anew over their competing claims in the South China Sea.

China firmly opposes the Philippines' Maritime Zones Act, which it says "severely infringes on" the its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Sunday in a statement.

The Philippines' foreign ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador on Wednesday, November 13, to protest against Beijing's establishment of baseline coordinates around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea,

China declared its maritime baselines around Scarborough Shoal after the Philippines passed laws defining its maritime zones and sea lanes last week.