China has dismissed the recent decision by Google to rename parts of the disputed South China Sea, which now labels maritime areas near the Philippines as the West Philippine Sea.
This change, made on Google Maps on Monday, has sparked mixed reactions, with the Philippines welcoming the shift, while China maintains its stance over the region.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian addressed the matter on Tuesday, stating that the term "South China Sea" has been universally recognized and used by the international community, including the United Nations and various international organizations. "The South China Sea has long been used as a universal location name recognized by the international community," Lin said, dismissing the renaming as a minor change.
Despite the update, the South China Sea label still appears on Google Maps to the north and west of the newly designated West Philippine Sea area.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) expressed support for the update, calling it a positive step towards accurate representation. "As defenders of national sovereignty, the AFP sees this as a valuable contribution to truthful representation and public awareness," said AFP spokeswoman Francel Margareth Padilla, as reported by the state-run Philippine News Agency.
Meanwhile, tensions continued to simmer in the region. China accused the Philippine Coast Guard of provoking a confrontation near Huangyan Dao, known as Panatag Shoal in the Philippines. China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that a Philippine vessel allegedly maneuvered close to a Chinese patrol ship, attempting to stage photographs. The Chinese Coast Guard stated that the Philippine vessel crossed near its ship four times before being ordered out of the area.
The South China Sea remains a hotly contested region, with overlapping territorial claims from China, the Philippines, and other Southeast Asian nations. China asserts control over nearly the entire area, which includes vital shipping lanes and potential underwater resources.
Flights out of Bangladesh's main airport were delayed or diverted on Saturday after a major fire broke out in the cargo terminal, officials said....
Repair work has started on damaged off-site power lines to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant following a four-week outage, IAEA Director Ge...
Afghanistan and Pakistan will hold peace talks in Doha on Saturday, both sides said, after the South Asia neighbours extended a ceasefire following a ...
Britain's Prince Andrew said on Friday he would give up using his title of Duke of York following years of criticism about his behaviour and connectio...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for October 18th, covering the latest developments you need to know....
Beijing has called on the Philippines to give up "unrealistic illusions" in the South China Sea, after Manila reaffirmed that Scarborough Shoal and the Kalayaan Island Group are integral parts of the Philippine archipelago.
A new multimodal transport corridor linking China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan has officially opened, marking the completion of the long-planned China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway project, which began construction on 27 December 2024.
Chinese state media on Thursday issued a seven-point rebuttal to U.S. calls for Beijing to wind back its rare earth controls, as both sides struggle to move beyond a volley of barbs and accusations of blindsiding the other.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday published a senior official's evidence in the prosecution of two men charged with spying for China, seeking to demonstrate that the case did not collapse because of government manipulation.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
Flights out of Bangladesh's main airport were delayed or diverted on Saturday after a major fire broke out in the cargo terminal, officials said.
Repair work has started on damaged off-site power lines to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant following a four-week outage, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on Saturday.
Afghanistan and Pakistan will hold peace talks in Doha on Saturday, both sides said, after the South Asia neighbours extended a ceasefire following a week of fierce border clashes.
Britain's Prince Andrew said on Friday he would give up using his title of Duke of York following years of criticism about his behaviour and connections to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for October 18th, covering the latest developments you need to know.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment