Google has finally included the West Philippine Sea on Google Maps, the navigation platform showed on Monday, April 14. The area to the west of the Philippines is now labeled as such, following the country’s maritime boundaries.
The Philippine government uses “West Philippine Sea” to refer to waters on the west side of the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which covers 200 nautical miles of water from the shores.
The new label comes amid tensions in the West Philippine Sea with China, particularly in Ayungin Shoal, where the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy have stood ground and carried out resupply missions since 1999 in a bid to stake the country’s claim over the waters.
China’s official map includes a nine-dash line that outlines nearly the entire West Philippine Sea, which it claims to be part of the South China Sea. The line overlaps with the EEZs of neighboring countries like Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Philippines. In 2016, the Hague, through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), ruled the nine-dash line invalid and affirmed the Philippines’ control over resources within the EEZ. Beijing, however, rejected the ruling. International maps also recognize the area as part of the South China Sea.
Historian Xiao Chua said that the 2012 law renaming the South China Sea waters in the Philippines’ EEZ the West Philippine Sea should have been enough for the Philippines to press its territorial claims.
“It should not have been very important,” Chua told Rolling Stone Philippines. “Because if we all stand by our claim to the EEZ and the law that was signed during [Benigno Aquino III’s administration], that calls it the West Philippine Sea, then it should have been enough.”
“It has become important though because of a lawmaker’s claim that the West Philippine Sea doesn’t exist because it is not recognized internationally,” he added, referring to Sagip Representative and senatorial candidate Rodante Marcoleta’s statement in February 2025, which argued against the existence of the West Philippine Sea.
Google Maps Overseas
Historical researcher Kristoffer Pasion initially told Rolling Stone Philippines that the West Philippine Sea label may only appear for users in the Philippines. “For example, in the U.S., opening Google Maps brings up the ‘Gulf of America’ instead of the Gulf of Mexico.”
Pasion pointed out that Google’s policy intends to reflect internationally recognized names and boundaries while also considering local naming conventions where applicable, as in the case of the Gulf of Mexico.
“It helps that Google acknowledges our state’s sovereign rights to name and utilize our maritime entitlements,” said Pasion, “but it’s just that, an acknowledgment.”
He added, “But this is better than Google being ambiguous or silent, in the face of our country’s stand against the encroachment of China, in clear violation of UNCLOS.”
Despite Google’s use of both “Gulf of Mexico” and “Gulf of America,” sources currently abroad confirmed to Rolling Stone Philippines on late Monday evening that both the “South China Sea” and “West Philippine Sea” labels appear on their Google Maps.
Pasion said it means that “Google doesn’t fear backlash from China.” But he also asked, “Is it the same when the user is in China?”
Google services are currently unavailable in China. Its Chinese alternative, Baidu, currently does not display the “West Philippine Sea” label over the Philippines’ EEZ. Likewise, Apple Maps only labels the area “South China Sea.”
