Walang kuwenta ang ipinagmamalaking bagong 10-dash line map ng China para kamkamin ang halos kabuuan ng South China Sea, ayon kay political analyst at UST Political Science professor Marlon Villarin.
Sinuportahan aniya ng isa sa pinakamatandang mapa sa buong mundo, ang Velarde map, ang territorial claim ng Pilipinas sa West Philippine Sea.
“Eh mukhang lumalabas, parang peke kaya talagang napakalaki ng tulong no’ng tinatawag nating one of the oldest map that really says that it is part of our territory (WPS), the Velarde map,” ayon kay Villarin sa programang “Hot Patatas” sa Daily Tribune Facebook page at Youtube channel kahapon.
Batay sa pag-aaral na may titulong” A Hydrographical and Chorographical Chart of the Philippine Islands” na inilathala sa loc.gov, “This magnificent map of the Philippine archipelago, drawn by the Jesuit Father Pedro Murillo Velarde (1696–1753) and published in Manila in 1734, is the first and most important scientific map of the Philippines.”
Sinabi sa “Mapa de Las Yslas Philipinas Hecho Por el Pe. Pedro Murillo Velarde de Compa. de Jesus”
“The Murillo Velarde maps have been instrumental in Philippine efforts to assert territorial rights over parts of the South China Sea. The maps, along with 270 others, were used in international arbitration to refute China’s claim of historic suzerainty over the entire South China Sea.”
