ABSTRACT
The Philippine-China relationship is one of the most important bilateral ties that the Philippines has forged. The Philippines is keenly aware and recognizes, in common with other nations around the world, the increasing economic, political, and military capabilities of China. The maritime claims of the Philippines and China overlap with one another and are complicated by the fact that the two states contest territorial sovereignty over multiple islands in the southern South China Sea and over Scarborough Shoal, located in the northeastern part of the South China Sea. Conflicting claims to sovereignty over islands, related overlapping maritime claims, and undelimited maritime boundaries are an enduring source of tension between the Philippines and China. The Philippines has also enacted domestic legislation related to maritime claims that is largely consistent with United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
