'West Philippine Sea' label seen on Google Maps, Google Earth

MANILA, Philippines — Google Maps and Google Earth currently display the "West Philippine Sea" on their digital maps.
Users who search for the West Philippine Sea on Google Maps will find a location marker with approximately 395 reviews, with the latest comments appearing to be from two months ago and the oldest dating back around eight years.
Several reviewers left comments asserting the Philippines' sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea, with phrases like "Atin ito (This is ours)" appearing repeatedly in the location's reviews section.

Google has currently restricted new reviews for the location, displaying a notice that "Posting is currently turned off." More details about the restriction show that Google does this when "some types of places are more likely to receive posts, like reviews, that violate Google's policies."
Meanwhile, the same "West Philippine Sea" label in the same waters west of the Philippines can be found on Google Earth.
Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson, welcomed news of the West Philippine Sea label on Google Maps. "For anyone wondering if you can search for the West Philippine Sea on Google," Tarriela wrote on his social media accounts.

Timely reappearance
Reports of the reappearance of the "West Philippine Sea" on the tech giant's widely used navigation platforms come just months after a House lawmaker argued against its actual existence in the "maps of the world."
Rep. Rodante Marcoleta (SAGIP Partylist) had erroneously claimed in a February 3 hearing at the House of Representatives that the West Philippine Sea was merely "a creation by us" that could not be found on maps. He later clarified on February 10 that he meant the West Philippine Sea is not on "any maps of the world, of the oceans."
However, contrary to Marcoleta's claims, the West Philippine Sea is officially recognized in Philippine government documents and maps. Former President Benigno Aquino III issued Administrative Order No. 29 in 2012, officially naming the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago as the West Philippine Sea.
The same definition was later incorporated into Republic Act No. 12064, or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, signed in November 2024. The National Mapping and Resource Information Agency (NAMRIA) has included the West Philippine Sea in its official digital eMapa in accordance with this administrative order.
While the name appears on the country's official maps, it has not been deposited with the United Nations or recognized internationally, which explains why it does not appear on many world maps.
West Philippine Sea different from the South China Sea. The West Philippine Sea specifically refers to the portion of the South China Sea that falls within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf. According to Administrative Order No. 29, it includes "the Luzon Sea as well as the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo De Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal."
The South China Sea, meanwhile, is the larger body of water bordered by China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. It encompasses several disputed island groups, including the Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands, and is subject to competing territorial claims from multiple countries in the region, including the Philippines.
Google's history with disputed territories
This is not the first time Google Maps has been involved in naming controversies in the region. In 2015, Google faced backlash after it briefly changed the name of Scarborough Shoal (also known as Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc) to reflect it as part of China's Zhongsha island chain, according to a New York Times report.
Following public complaints, including a petition on Change.org, Google reverted to using "Scarborough Shoal" in line with what the company described as its "longstanding global policy on depicting disputed regions in a way that does not endorse or affirm the position taken by any side."
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