The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday expressed support for the move to deposit the official nautical chart of Bajo de Masinloc and its surrounding maritime zones with the United Nations Secretariat. “The AFP fully supports the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the National Maritime Council, and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority in the formal deposit of the official nautical chart for Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag Shoal) and its surrounding maritime zones with the United Nations Secretariat,” RAdm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, said in a statement. Trinidad said the milestone represents a crucial, legal and rules-based assertion of national domain, pursuant to United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

Abanilla, I. (2026, August 8). Bajo de Masinloc chart with UN gets AFP nod. The Manila Times, p. A3.