DISREGARDING international conventions and practice, President Benigno Aquino 3rd in 2012, on his own, renamed as the 'West Philippine Sea' a segment of the South China Sea. It is a term that would hobble our efforts to settle our sovereignty and maritime-claim disputes with China and Vietnam.

The South China Sea name was given by Europeans starting in the 16th century and recognized over the centuries as such by the world's nations. It is defined precisely through geographic coordinates by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), governing body for the naming of bodies of water around the world. China calls it internally as the 'South Sea' while Vietnam calls it the 'East Sea.'