Google Maps now carries WPS

The West Philippine Sea (WPS), a part of the disputed South China Sea (SCS), may now be searched for on Google Maps. Filipino netizens noticed the label on Monday, though Google has not said when it was added to the platform.

The WPS refers to the waters within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

China claims the WPS which overlaps the SCS.

The name was officially adopted in 2012 through Administrative Order No. 29 issued by then President Benigno Aquino III. The order designated the Luzon Sea and the waters around, within, and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and the Bajo de Masinloc as the West Philippine Sea.

The Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal), a low-tide elevation within the WPS, has been a point of contention between the Philippines and China who have overlapping claims. Located 105 nautical miles west of Palawan, Ayungin Shoal is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

In 2016, the Philippines won a landmark arbitration case against China at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea. China has rejected the ruling, calling it “illegal, null and void.”