Red Text My Comments:
-In 1947, Cloma, a Filipino adventurer and a fishing magnate, found several uninhabited and unoccupied groups of islands/islets in the South China Sea. This forms part of the bases for justification of Spratly islands territorial claims by the Philippines, along with basis from 1982 UNCLOS archipelagic doctrine
International Law and the Philippines' Claim
4. The possession of an unoccupied territory
The territory must not have an owner (res nullius), or it has been abandoned (res derelicta).
Treaty of San Francisco (1951)– Japan surrendered all its illegally occupied territories.
People's Republic of China Objections to the Treaty:
September 18, 1951 the Peoples Republic of China published statements denouncing the treaty, stating that it was illegal and should not be recognized. Besides their general exclusion from the negotiation process, the PRC claimed that the Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands and Pratas Islands in the South Pacific were actually part of China. The treaty either did not address these islands, or in the case of the Pratas Islands turned them over to the United Nations.
1951: At the San Francisco Conference, the Peace Agreement with Japan did not state clearly which country had sovereignty over the islands. None of the 51 countries participated protested. The USSR proposed that the two archipelagos be given to China, but it was rejected with 46 votes against, 3 votes for.
Again
The Japanese Government surrendered and did not designate the Islands to a SPECIFIC COUNTRY making it TERRA NULLIUS (land belonging to no one).
In May 1956, Tomas Cloma, a Filipino FIRST CLAIMED THE ISLANDS after JAPAN SURRENDERED. Observing that there was no human settlement nor national flag present on them, he decided to establish the Kalayaan state. He posted a document in English, entitled Notice to the Whole World, on all features he claimed.
In September 1956 (4 months after Cloma announcement), after the Republic of China occupied the largest island, Ligao Island (Itu Aba),Tomas Cloma decided to cede and sell all the territories of his state to the Philippines for just one peso (US$0.50 of the time)