Philippines can name ‘West Philippine Sea,’ says AI tool

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has the right to assign names to maritime zones that are part of its jurisdiction like the West Philippine Sea, according to an artificial intelligence (AI) tool created by social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

The AI chat tool, Grok, said while “South China Sea” is used by the international community to refer to “a broader region,” “a country’s right to name its own maritime zones domestically is a recognized practice.”

“The ‘West Philippine Sea’ label is a strategic assertion of the Philippines’ legal rights within its EEZ (exclusive economic zone), not a claim to rename the entire South China Sea,” Grok noted.

“Thus, the Philippines is well within its legal authority to use this term,” it added.

Grok cited Administrative Order No. 29, signed by the late former president Benigno Aquino III in 2012, which designated “the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago… as the West Philippine Sea,” including the Luzon Sea “as well as the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal.”

It also used as basis the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS, as well as Republic Act 9522 that “aligns the country’s maritime zones with international standards.”

Also mentioned was the landmark 2016 Arbitral Award that upheld the Philippines’ sovereign rights over its 200-nautical mile EEZ under UNCLOS, including the West Philippine Sea and Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, also called Panatag Shoal.

Grok’s discussion was a reply to the question posted on March 15 by Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesman for the agency on West Philippine Sea issues.

“Hey @grok, does the Philippines have the legal authority to call the western part of its exclusive economic zone the ‘West Philippine Sea?’” Tarriela asked.