"But if Itu Aba is determined to be an island, it is entitled to a 200 nautical mile (370 km) exclusive economic zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
"Other features are classed as 'rocks,' which can claim 12 nautical miles of territorial waters, and 'low tide elevations' which can claim neither.
"Independent legal scholars and experts told Reuters that Itu Aba could prove a potential sticking point in the broader case. 'For decades, the combined wisdom among scholars studying the South China Sea is that Itu Aba is the only island in the Spratlys,' said Ian Storey, a regional security expert at Singapore's ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute.
Note:
(a) About Us. undated. https://www.iseas.edu.sg/about-us
("The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), an autonomous organization established by an Act of [Singapore] Parliament in 1968, was renamed ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute in August 2015")
(b) Yusof ISHAK (1910-1970; male; first president of Singapore 1965-1970)
(2) Mai Nguyen, Vietnam Vexed over Taiwan's 'Worthless' Media Trip to Island. Reuters, Mar 24, 2016 http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk ... etnam-idUKKCN0WQ0XI
("Itu Aba is coming into focus as the Philippines challenges the legality of China's claims to most of the South China Sea, which it asserts through a controversial and largely unexplained nine-dash line on its maps")
Note: There is no need to read the rest of this Reuters report.