Beijing: Japan and the Philippines have initiated discussions to delimit overlapping Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf claims in the waters east of Taiwan. This move has been met with strong objections from China, which views the talks as an encroachment on its sovereignty claims.

According to Anadolu Agency, the formal negotiations, announced in May, aim to define overlapping maritime claims between Japan's Ryukyu-Okinawa island chain and the northern and eastern Philippines. Despite not sharing a land border, this initiative has prompted China to conduct maritime patrols in the area, criticizing the negotiations as a "manipulation of the delimitation agenda and violation of China's maritime rights and interests."

Taiwan, claimed by China as a breakaway province, asserts that the waters also overlap with its own EEZ and has urged Japan and the Philippines to respect its maritime rights. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), states with overlapping maritime claims are expected to seek an equitable agreement.

International affairs expert Nancy Snow suggests that clearer maritime boundaries could benefit various sectors such as fisheries, seabed resources, marine research, energy exploration, and law enforcement. She highlights the broader political significance of these negotiations, which signal closer strategic ties between Tokyo and Manila. Snow emphasizes that Beijing perceives "these talks as implicitly treating Taiwan's surrounding waters as an international/legal space that Japan and the Philippines can discuss without China."

Chienyu Shih, from Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, notes that the negotiations are part of broader efforts by Japan and the Philippines to consolidate the maritime framework of the First Island Chain. Shih suggests that Japan may seek to integrate this chain-comprising Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines-into a single theater of operations, a development likely welcomed by the United States.

Georgi Engelbrecht, a Philippines expert at the International Crisis Group, states that the talks reflect strengthening ties between Tokyo and Manila. He acknowledges concerns in Taipei over the proposed maritime boundary potentially overlapping with Taiwan's EEZ. Engelbrecht indicates that while these discussions are "building up strategic trust," they are "unlikely to deter China."

Beijing-based analyst Einar Tangen argues that the negotiations increase regional tensions, describing them as a "two-step towards conflict with China." He claims that while legally, Japan and the Philippines may argue that their agreement will not bind third parties, strategically, it challenges Chinese sovereignty claims linked to the maritime areas in question.