A new map the Philippines is working on would comply with international laws even as it shows the country's maritime entitlements and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.

Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, Assistant Director General of the National Security Council, said the country's new map would conform with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling.

The arbitral court recognized the Philippines' exclusive economic zone in the WPS while invalidating China's nine-dash line claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.

Malaya said the map would also reflect the Philippine Rise, formerly the Benham Rise, as the country's extended continental shelf located on its eastern seaboard.

Maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal welcomed the new Philippine map, "particularly if it will publicize the full extent of our maritime domain."

Meanwhile, the newly created Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones, presided over by Senator Francis Tolentino, convened on Thursday for the first time.

The panel, which was created through the approval of Senate Resolution 76, tackled several measures regarding the establishment of Philippine maritime zones.

"It is timely then that the Senate provides the necessary support for our fellow workers in government and the executive branch to secure better the benefits of the vast Philippine maritime zones, including our territorial sea, and the larger exclusive economic zone," Tolentino said.

10-dash response

Senators earlier condemned China's release of its updated "standard map," showing ten dashes that form a U shape — extending its claim nearly the entire South China Sea — through Taiwan and India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin region.

Some of China's claimed territories overlap with the Philippine EEZ and the territorial claims of Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The Senate's special panel on maritime and admiralty zones aims to craft the Philippine map to counter China's 10-dash line claims.

"We are trying to craft our own map. This is a response to the ten-dash line, so we can't finish this in one hearing," Tolentino said.

Senator Robin Padilla supported the nine pending Senate bills establishing the Philippine maritime zones over the 200 nautical mile EEZ and continental shelf.

"If it becomes law, it will provide the necessary flexibility in the adoption of subsequent laws appropriate to the country's rights, policies, and obligations in maritime zones," Padilla said in Filipino.