The Philippines should take a bold step in defending its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea by encouraging neighboring states to conduct with it joint freedom of navigation patrols in the hotly contested South China Sea, acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio on Sunday said. West Philippine Sea is the local name of the waters within the Philippines’ 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea recognized under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, including waters within the EEZs of its Southeast Asian neighbors that also have claims in the strategic waterway — Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Ramos, M. (2018, August 6). Joint naval patrols by PH, neighbors urged. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A6.