In 1951, the United States convened the San Francisco Peace Conference to discuss the fate of the Spratlys Islands. The Philippines, led by Carlos P. Romulo, took part in the conference but his delegation did not register a claim, unlike Vietnam or even China, and notwithstanding the exclusion of the Chinese from the conference. The conference led to the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty. Its Art. 2(f) provided that “Japan renounces all right, title and claim to the Spratly Islands.” The provision regarded the Spratlys as a single unit previously subject in its entirety to Japanese sovereignty. The Philippines formally and internationally expressed interest in the islands only in 1956, following a claim lodged by Tomas Cloma over an area he called “Freedomland.”

Loja, M., & Bagares, R. (2021, July 12). The great reset in the Spratlys dispute. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A9.