JUNE 16, Manila — The Philippine government will submit a 300-year old map of the Philippines, which was published in 1734 by a Jesuit friar, to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to support its petition to nullify China’s claim in the West Philippine Sea.
The said map, which shows Panatag Shoal, or Scarborough Shoal, off the coast of Zambales province, was published in Manila by the Jesuit friar Pedro Murillo Velarde in 1734.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Murillo Velarde map “would certainly present the side of the Philippines when it comes to any historical basis of its claim to some territories in the West Philippine Sea.”
The map is currently in London, waiting to be submitted to the ITLOS as evidence of the Philippines’ claim. (Eagle News Service)
