Scarborough Shoal is a single isolated lagoon in the West Philippine Sea. It is about 125 nautical miles (232 kilometers) from the west coast of Luzon, the Philippines’ main island.
Distance from Scarborough Shoal, to the nearest countries:
(nm=nautical miles : km=kilometres)
- 130nm to The Philippines. 241km. (This makes Scarborough Shoal inside the Philippines’ 200 nautical-mile (370km) exclusive economic zone.)
- 441nm to Taiwan. 817km.
- 506nm to China. 937km.
- 529nm to Vietnam. 989km.
- 563nm to Malaysia. 1,043km.
What is an Exclusive Economic Zone?
An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is an area of coastal water and seabed within a certain distance of a country’s coastline, to which the country has exclusive rights for fishing, drilling, and other economic activities.
Prior to 2012, Philippine vessels often fished in the lagoon’s rich fisheries, and when Chinese vessels tried to do the same, the Philippine navy would expel them.
In 2012, Chinese coast guard vessels forced the Philippine ships out, and China has controlled it ever since.
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