LET Social Science Practice Exam 2026 – The All-in-One Guide to Mastering Your Certification!

The key idea is that rights over sea areas and resources are governed by a single international framework: the law that defines how states establish maritime zones and resolve disputes. This framework gives coastal states like the Philippines a mechanism to assert and defend claims to areas within their jurisdiction, such as a territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf, and it provides formal dispute settlement processes to challenge competing claims.

In the Spratlys in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines has used this framework to assert its rights under UNCLOS (the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea) to an EEZ and continental shelf where it can explore and harness resources. The legal route under UNCLOS was also how the Philippines brought the dispute with China to arbitration, resulting in a 2016 ruling that clarified parts of the South China Sea claims under UNCLOS and supported the Philippines’ position within that framework.

The other treaties mentioned do not govern maritime boundaries or dispute resolution in the way UNCLOS does. The Geneva Conventions relate to humanitarian treatment in armed conflict, while the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement focus on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.