Beijing set its baseline around the Scarborough shoal, however, claiming that the contested atoll should be the starting point for considering much of the entire South China Sea as Chinese territorial waters or its exclusive economic zone. A statement by ...

China rejected Philippine maritime claims on Sunday, saying new legislation "severely infringes on" Beijing's territorial sovereignty and rights in the South China Sea, and vowing to protect its own interests.

China has published baselines for a contested shoal in the South China Sea it had seized from the Philippines, a move that’s likely to increase tensions over overlapping territorial claims.