- Beijing sees these talks as ‘implicitly treating Taiwan’s surrounding waters as an international/legal space that Japan and Philippines can discuss without China,' says international affairs expert Nancy Snow
- While such talks between Manila, Tokyo are ‘building up strategic trust,’ they were ‘unlikely to deter China,’ says International Crisis Group’s Georgi Engelbrecht
- According to Beijing-based expert Einar Tangen, talks wrapped in language of international law while driven by strategic calculations aimed at containing China
Japan and the Philippines have begun talks to delimit overlapping Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf claims in waters east of Taiwan, prompting strong objections from China over what Beijing sees as an encroachment on its sovereignty claims.
Although Japan and the Philippines do not share a land border, they announced formal negotiations in May to define overlapping maritime claims between Japan's Ryukyu-Okinawa island chain and the northern and eastern Philippines.
Since then, China has conducted maritime patrols in the area and criticized the negotiations as "manipulation of the delimitation agenda and violation of China's maritime rights and interests."
Taiwan, which China claims as a breakaway province, says the waters also overlap with its own EEZ and has urged both Japan and the Philippines to respect its maritime rights.
An EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles (about 230 miles) from a coastal state's shoreline. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), states with overlapping maritime claims are expected to seek an equitable agreement.
Nancy Snow, an international affairs expert, said clearer maritime boundaries would benefit fisheries, seabed resources, marine research, energy exploration and law enforcement.
She said the negotiations also carry broader political significance by signaling closer strategic ties between Tokyo and Manila.
Beijing sees "these talks as implicitly treating Taiwan's surrounding waters as an international/legal space that Japan and the Philippines can discuss without China," Snow told Anadolu.
She said China views Taiwan as part of its territory and claims the waters east of the island as part of China's EEZ and continental shelf.
"Beijing's anger is more political-strategic than legally decisive: a bilateral delimitation cannot bind China or Taiwan, and China cannot simply veto lawful talks between two UNCLOS coastal states," she said.
Delimitation and strategic alignment
Chienyu Shih, an associate research fellow at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told Anadolu that there was “indeed an overlap” between the EEZs of Japan and the Philippines and which “is why negotiations have been initiated.”
"From a strategic perspective, these negotiations are part of broader efforts by Japan and the Philippines to consolidate the maritime framework of the First Island Chain," Shih told Anadolu.
Shih said in the future, “Japan may seek to integrate the First Island Chain -- comprising Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines -- into a single theater of operations, a development the United States is likely to welcome.”
"Delimitation is not merely about fisheries, seabed resources, or jurisdiction; it is about establishing a legally grounded maritime order along the First Island Chain," he said.
Shih added that maritime delimitation could not be separated from Taiwan's disputed political status and China's sovereignty claims.
China sees sovereignty challenge
Georgi Engelbrecht, a Philippines expert at think tank International Crisis Group, said the talks reflected strengthening ties between Tokyo and Manila.
He said the proposed maritime boundary appears to overlap with Taiwan's EEZ, creating concerns in Taipei that its interests could be overlooked.
Engelbrecht added that China is “not happy” that Manila and Tokyo are “ramping up cooperation.”
"Beijing also feels directly involved as it considers such talks hitting its sovereignty," he said.
Engelbrecht said while the maritime boundary talks between Manila and Tokyo are “building up strategic trust,” they were “unlikely to deter China.”
‘2-step towards conflict'
Einar Tangen, a Beijing-based analyst, argued that the negotiations increase regional tensions.
Japan and the Philippines negotiating maritime boundaries is a “two-step towards conflict with China,” Tangen told Anadolu.
“It is another move in the geopolitical contest unfolding across East Asia … It is being wrapped in the language of international law while driven by strategic calculations aimed at containing China,” he claimed.
Tangen said Beijing rejects the idea that Japan and the Philippines can negotiate maritime boundaries near Taiwan without affecting Chinese interests.
While Taiwan is not a signatory to UNCLOS because it is not recognized as a member state of the UN, Tangen said: “Japan and the Philippines argue that any agreement they reach will not bind third parties. Legally that may be true. Strategically, it misses the point entirely. China sees the negotiations as affecting maritime areas connected to Chinese sovereignty claims.”
