The national government is protesting against China's new version of the map, which overlaps the Philippines' exclusive economic zones (EEZ).

The country's diplomatic protest was confirmed by Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu on Thursday.

In Beijing's 2023 standard map version released this week, a 10-dash line was drawn representing China's territorial control over the South China Sea as it disregarded the EEZ of the Philippines.

The 10-dash line, formerly the 9-dash line, also overlaps parts of its neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

In a statement released on Thursday, DFA stressed that the "latest attempt to legitimize China’s purported sovereignty and jurisdiction over Philippine features and maritime zones has no basis under international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)."

The statement stressed that the 2016 Arbitral Award has already invalidated Beijing’s claims over the disputed waters covered by the previous nine-dash line.

"It categorically stated that "maritime areas of the South China Sea encompassed by the relevant part of the 'nine-dash line' are contrary to the Convention and without lawful effect to the extent that they exceed the geographic and substantive limits of China's maritime entitlements under the Convention," the statement read.

"The Philippines, therefore, call on China to act responsibly and abide by its obligations under UNCLOS and the final and binding 2016 Arbitral Award," it added.