Philippine President Marcos passed two maritime laws last week in a move that Manila says will strengthen its sovereignty over waters within the country’s archipelago and the South China Sea. Using standards set forth by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),

The Philippines has protested China’s baselines around the disputed Scarborough Shoal, as tensions between the two nations build up anew over their competing claims in the South China Sea.

China is putting ever-greater pressure on the Philippines to cede its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday after a meeting with his Australian counterpart in Canberra.

China firmly opposes the Philippines' Maritime Zones Act, which it says "severely infringes on" the its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Sunday in a statement.

China declared its maritime baselines around Scarborough Shoal after the Philippines passed laws defining its maritime zones and sea lanes last week.