The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) welcomes the inclusion of the West Philippine Sea in Google Maps, noting that it "affirms the international recognition of the country’s sovereign rights which was upheld in the 2016 arbitral ruling under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)".

"For the AFP as the defenders of our national sovereignty, we see this as a valuable contribution to truthful representation and public awareness, and we encourage more entities to follow suit in really labeling this (exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as backed by international law and more entities would consider this as a label for our waters," AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Padilla told reporters on Tuesday.

"The AFP remains resolute in performing our mandate of guarding our sovereignty and of course our sovereign rights. All of this is under international law," she added.

It was learned on April 14 that Google has formally labeled the western section of the country's exclusive economic zone as West Philippine Sea on its map.

The Google Map shows that the West Philippine Sea covers the entire waters in the western side of the country where the Scarborough Shoal which is located 120 nautical miles away from the coast of Zambales is located.

In his message to the Daily Manila Shimbun, Rommel Banlaoi, Philippine Association for Chinese studies president said that "the Google Map depiction of the West Philippine Sea is symbolic of the Philippine national position".

However, he also noted that "it has no legal bearing and can generate further political friction with China and other claimants."

Jay Batongbacal, a maritime law expert, told The Big Story Wednesday night this represents the ''widening recognition among private entities and citizens, both natural and juridical, of the Philippines' rights and entitlements symbolized by the adoption of the name West Philippine Sea.''

Robina Asido/DMS