Gulf of America to South China Sea – how maps name disputed territories

This article was originally published in Rest of World, which covers technology’s impact outside the West.

After US President Donald Trump issued an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as Gulf of America in January, some digital maps quickly made the change, at least for American users.

“People using Maps in the U.S. will see ‘Gulf of America,’ and people in Mexico will see ‘Gulf of Mexico.’ Everyone else will see both names,” Google said in a blog post.

It wasn’t the first time that mapping companies have had to update a name. Around the world, many places have had multiple names at different times due to historical reasons or territorial disputes. Governments often pressure map companies, airlines, media outlets, and even streaming firms to adopt their preferred names.

Seas can be particularly tricky, as countries bordering one body of water often have different names for it. Here’s a look at how some of the leading mapping services globally display the disputed names of such seas. While Google Maps and Apple’s Maps are used across the world, Here WeGo is particularly popular in Europe. Baidu Maps is widely used in China, and Naver Map is the go-to map app in South Korea.

Gulf of Mexico or Gulf of America

President Trump ordered the...

Read more