Palawan: Not part of China – Biogeography and History has the Receipts.

Based on the foregoing historical, juridical and biogeographical facts, it is undisputed that Palawan is an integral part of the territorial jurisdiction and sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines. As a principal island of the Philippine archipelago, Palawan forms part of the archipelagic baselines from which the Philippines’ maritime entitlements, including its territorial sea, exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and continental shelf, are measured under UNCLOS Articles 3, 57, and 76. Hence, any claim by China that Palawan is part of its territory is baseless and has no legal or historical foundation under international law. (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)

China’s claim over Palawan lacks scientific merit when evaluated through the lenses of biogeography, land mass theory, and biodiversity. The island’s geological history, ecological identity, and species distribution firmly establish its connection to the Philippines, reinforcing its sovereignty under Philippine jurisdiction. Attempts to assert territorial claims based on historical narratives must be scrutinized against empirical scientific evidence, which in this case, unequivocally contradicts China’s assertions. Scientific inquiry provides an objective basis for territorial delineation, and in the case of Palawan, all available data affirm its status as a Philippine territory.

1690 Coronelli Map of South East Asia

(Isole dell’ Indie diuise in Filippine, Molucche, e della Sonda )(CORONELLI, Vincenzo Maria (1650-1718)

In 1734, Padre Pedro Murillo Velarde, a Jesuit priest, along with two Filipinos, Francisco Suarez (who drew the map) and Nicolas dela Cruz Bagay (who engraved it), also published a map in Manila called “Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Yslas Filipinas”. Velarde’s map shows an archipelago with two panels, each illustrating the people and places in the Philippines. The map also includes a small island named “Panacot” later known as “Bajo de Masinloc” or now, Scarborough Shoal. The rocks and islands of the Spratlys Group of Islands are also shown, labeled as “Los Bajos de Paragua”. (murillovelardemap.com, n.d.) “Paragua” is the old name of Palawan and “Bajo” is a Spanish term for shoal. Thus, “Los Bajos de Paragua” 

means “The shoals of Palawan”. The shoals of Palawan include the Spratlys.

Since then, Act No. 1363 of the Philippine Commission officially changed the name of “Paragua” to “Palawan”, with Puerto Princesa as its capital on June 28, 1905. (Philippine Commission Act No. 1363)

Murillo Velarde 1734 Map

 In 2016, the Arbitral Tribunal of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in its decision in The South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China), PCA Case No. 2013-19, ruled that Second Thomas Shoal, Mischief Reefs, and Reed Bank are within the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the Philippines. Hence, the Philippines, as the coastal State,  have the sole sovereign rights to explore and exploit all the natural resources found therein. It further ruled that China’s activities in these areas breached its obligations under Article 77 of the Convention with respect to the Philippines’ sovereign rights over non-living resources of its continental shelf. (The South China Sea Arbitration , 2016)

According to the Tribunal, China’s claims to historical rights, or other sovereign rights or jurisdiction, with respect to the maritime areas of the South China Sea encompassed by the relevant part of the ‘nine-dash line’ are contrary to the Convention and without lawful effect to the extent that they exceed the geographic and substantive rights or jurisdiction, in excess of the limits imposed therein.

The decision of the Arbitral Tribunal on the West Philippine Sea dispute was based on the determination that the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines extends 200 nautical miles from the baselines of Palawan, in accordance with Article 57 of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea).

Biogeography, related  species unique to Palawan and the Philippines

Palawan is geologically distinct from China and more closely linked to the Philippine archipelago. Its origins trace back to the Sunda Shelf, a submerged landmass that once connected the province to Borneo, not the Chinese mainland (Irwanto, 2015). This connection is part of the Sundaland biogeographic region, which also defines species distribution across Southeast Asia. The Sunda Shelf, which includes parts of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, is characterized by unique geological features and ecosystems that have evolved independently of China’s landmass. Moreover, the South China Sea serves as a natural biogeographical barrier. The deep waters of the sea separate Palawan from China, preventing species migration that would otherwise be expected if the landmasses had a shared evolutionary history (Ochoa et al.,  2022). In contrast, Palawan shares numerous ecological and geological similarities with Borneo and the Philippine archipelago, further confirming its Southeast Asian identity. It is entirely possible that when Sundaland was whole, various ancestors of modern-day species moved around the landmass before it eventually broke apart and submerged. In addition, scientists strongly believe that during the Pleistocene Ice Age warmer period, the ice between what would be Palawan and Borneo melted just enough for more species to traverse before Sundaland was submerged by the global ice melt (Raes et al. 2014).

Palawan’s biodiversity aligns with the Philippines’ ecological zones rather than China’s. The island is home to an extensive range of endemic species, including the Palawan peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron napoleonis), the Palawan bearcat (Arctictis binturong whitei), and the critically endangered Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis) (Heaney, 1986. Piper et al. 2011.). These species are genetically linked to Philippine fauna rather than to any known species endemic to China. The recently discovered Hoya sipitangensis plant found in Palawan is further proof that the island is more related to Malaysia (in terms of flora species) than China (Angeles et al. 2021). There is also the subject of how closely related some of Palawan’s fauna species are to other Southeast Asian countries’ species. The Palawan leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) is endemic to Palawan but recent molecular research indicates that the Sunda (Prionailurus javanensis) and Palawan leopard cats are closely related (Cat Specialist Group. 2025). The presence of dipterocarp forests, a dominant feature of Palawan’s ecosystem, also extends throughout the Philippine archipelago and its neighboring Southeast Asian Countries (particularly Malaysia and Indonesia) but are absent from the southern Chinese mainland before and after the last glacial maximum (Raes et al. 2014. Leimgruber et al. 2014).  If Palawan were historically part of China, as Beijing claims, there would be significant biogeographic evidence of faunal and floral continuity, but this remains to be seen.

Prepared by:

Teodoro Jose S. Matta, Esq., MNSA, Executive Director, Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (PCSDS)

Nino Rey Estoya, Deputy Executive Director, MNSA, PCSDS

Levita Lagrada, Director, PCSDS
Nheky A. Abuniawan-Jardin, PCSDS

Marcelo M. Quicho III, PCSDS

John Francisco A. Pontillas, EnP, PCSDS

References

Historical and Juridical

Carpio, J. A. (n.d.).

Carpio, J. A. (n.d.). Lecture on the permanent court of arbitration’s ruling on the West Philippine Sea dispute.

murillovelardemap.com. (n.d.).

Philippine Commission Act No. 1363, J. 2. (n.d.).

UNCLOS, A. C. (n.d.). The South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China), PCA Case No. 2013-19.

Permanent Court of Arbitration, U. (n.d.). The South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China), PCA Case No. 2013-19.

Permanent Court of Arbitration, U. (2016, June). The South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China), PCA Case No. 2013-19.

Tribunal, U. A. (n.d.). The South China Sea Arbitration PCA Case No. 2013-19.

The South China Sea Arbitration , PCA Case No. 2013-19 (UNCLOS Arbitral Tribunal July 12, 2016).

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Article 57.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Articles 3, 57, and 56.

Biogeography

Angeles, Marjorie. Hadsall, Annalee. Lucañas, Cristian. “New Distrubution Record of Hoya sipitangenisis Kloppenb. & Wilberg (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae) from Palawan, Philippines”. 14 June, 2021. Retrieved from: https://checklist.pensoft.net/article/66568/

Cat Specialist Group. “Sunda Leopard Cat”. Site last updated 2025. Retrieved from  https://www.catsg.org/living-species-sundaleopardcat

Heaney, L. R. “Biogeography of mammals in SE Asia: Estimates of rates of colonization, extinction and speciation”. 1986.  Retrieved from pages 127–165.

Irwanto, Dhani. “Sundaland”. 29 September 2015. Retrieved from: https://atlantisjavasea.com/2015/09/29/sundaland/

Leimgruber, Peter. Wegmann, Martin. Wohlfhart, Christian. “Mapping Threatened Dry Deciduous Dipterocarp Forest in South-East Asia for Conservation Management”. December 2014. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269573342_Mapping_Threatened_Dry_Deciduous_Dipterocarp_Forest_in_South-East_Asia_for_Conservation_Management

Ochoa, Janine et al. “Tropical Island Adaptation in South East Asia During the Ladt Glacial Maximum: Evidence from Palawan”. 1 August 2022. Retrieved from: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/abs/tropical-island-adaptations-in-southeast-asia-during-the-last-glacial-maximum-evidence-from-palawan/A55AABA43B6E6F9CD4C66662B73D55A8?

Piper, Philip. Robles, Emil. Ochoa, Janine. Helen, Lewis. “Paleozoloogy of Palwan Island, Philippines”. March 2011. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222656323_Palaeozoology_of_Palawan_Island_Philippines

Raes, Niels et al. “Historical distribution of Sundaland’s Dipterocarp rainforests at Quaternary glacial maxima”. 25 November 2014. Retrieved from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4250149/