Cheap Chinese globes depicting claims to all of South China Sea are selling in Manila stores

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By Raïssa Robles

Students, be aware.

The globe you might be using for your geography lessons might have China’s nine-dash line markings to show the world it owns all of South China Sea.

According to China, this includes Scarborough Shoal and the Recto Bank where the Philippines recently found huge gas deposits.

I did not stumble on this story. It was handed to me by a group of concerned Filipinos, one of whom – telecoms engineer David Valencia – took the trouble to e-mail me.

Alan went to National Book Store to see the globes for himself and saw them selling quite cheaply.

A small one costs P98.00 while the bigger one is P198.00. They are easily dented and damaged and have a wobbly fit in their stands. The nine-dash line is prominently marked and even encloses Taiwan. In contrast, a globe made in the United States – and sold in the same store for ten times more or 2000 pesos – does not show any lines in the South China Sea.

International law expert Harry Roque laughed when asked to comment about the globes. He said China “wants the world to believe it owns (all of) South China Sea. It’s good we already filed for arbitration” before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.

UP law Professor Roque also said the unwitting purchase and use of such globes would not bolster China’s case because the book store is not a state agency. But this may harm the store’s reputation – “now schoolchildren may have to be forewarned that not everything it sells is accurate.”

A bookstore official told me they were never aware of the nine-dash markings. But now they are. She said they were open to pulling them off the shelves.

I have made the slide presentation below on what Valencia and his friends found out and what my hubby Alan and I found out.

You can also read a separate story I filed on this in today’s issue of South China Morning Post by clicking on this link.

P.S. This is NOT the piece I’ve been working on since last week and which I promised you. It’s coming soon. Thanks for your patience.