China draws up new map for southernmost city amid tension over disputed islands with Philippines

China has released an updated map for a southern city, established to reinforce its claims in the South China Sea, showing new labels for Paracel and Spratly districts, which were formally created in 2020 but had not appeared on maps until now.

Sansha, China’s southernmost city in Hainan established in 2012, oversees disputed South China Sea territories also claimed by neighbouring countries like Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, and Malaysia.

The natural resources ministry released the updated map of the city on Sunday featuring new labels for the districts of Paracel, called Xisha in Chinese, and Spratly, locally known as Nansha, the South China Morning Post reported.

The civil affairs ministry, meanwhile, issued region codes for the two districts. The identifiers, used for census and administrative purposes, typically appear as the first six digits on the identity cards of residents born and registered in these areas.

Sansha, rich in resources and strategic significance, has seen extensive development in recent years, with facilities like banks and schools coming up.

The city’s jurisdiction reportedly covers more than 280 islands, shoals, reefs and related maritime features, along with the waters surrounding them, totalling around 800,000 square miles of sea and land. This area includes much of China’s nine-dash line claims, encompassing the Paracel, Spratly and Zhongsha Islands and commonly understood to cover Scarborough Shoal and Macclesfield Bank.

According to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, the establishment of Paracel and Spratly districts in Sansha was meant to solidify Beijing’s governance over the South China Sea.

China started administering this area back in 1959, when it set up a party committee and government office on Woody Island. The committee and the office were replaced by new municipal bodies in 2012 when Sansha city was founded, leading to the creation of further local governance structures.

The marking of the new districts continued this expansion, reinforcing China’s administrative presence over its claimed territories in the region.

The updated maps came after China reasserted its claim over the disputed Scarborough Shoal following new Philippine legislation formalising its own territorial claims. Beijing released geographic coordinates for 16 base points around the shoal, marking its first official baseline announcement for this area.

A statement by the Chinese foreign ministry said delimiting the Scarborough Shoal was a “natural step by the Chinese government to lawfully strengthen marine management and is consistent with international law and common practices”.

The previous day, the Philippines had signed two laws defining the country’s maritime zones and right to resources, including in the South China Sea, codifying claims that overlap significantly with China’s.