Amid the on-going South China Sea dispute involving a number of countries, a recent report revealed that a certain proof that the Philippines never had jurisdiction over the islands has been found.

Based on an 1899 map published by geographer J Martin Miller, Xinhua reported that the disputed islands "have never been Philippine territory."

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The map, which was part of the book "The Twentieth Century ATLAS and Illustrated World" and was purchased by Chines-American Zeng Yingjing at a flea market in New York in 2015, reportedly shows the "boundary of the US possession in the Philippines," as agreed at the 1898 Treaty of Paris.

In the middle of the South China Sea dispute, the report further narrated that the Philippine boundaries on the map "clearly lie out of" the South China Sea islands, including the Nansha Islands and the Huangyan Island.

"All the islands that the Philippines claims are not within the boundaries that were mapped out in this book," Zeng told the news outlet. "They have no right to say that the South China Sea islands belong to them."

Back in September 2015, Kalayaan municipality mayor Eugenio "Jun" Bito-onon shared with The Diplomat his views relative to this international concern. Kalayaan is composed of six islets located in Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea which is controlled by the Philippines.

"I think the best move that President Aquino did was the filing of the arbitration case," Bito-onon commented about how the present Philippine administration handles the issue. "I fully appreciate and support the filing of the arbitration case to once and for all resolve the issues and problems. I believe it will provide permanent solutions to the messy situation that we are in today."

What could be the impact of the 1899 map to the South China Sea dispute?

Tagschina, Philippines, South China Sea, spratly islands, South China Sea Dispute