A regional sea contained within the Australasian Mediterranean Sea at the southwestern edge of the Pacific Ocean. It is centred at about 120° E and 8° N and connected to the Sulawesi Sea to the southeast via many passages through the Sulu Archipelago, the Bohol Sea to the east, and the South China Sea to the west and northwest chiefly via the Mindoro, Linapacan, North Balabac, and Balabac Straits. It borders the Philippine islands of Mindanao, Negros, and Panay to the east, Mindoro and the Calamin Group to the north, Palawan to the west, and the aforementioned Sulu Archipelago to the southeast. The Malaysian portion of the island of Borneo lies to the southwest.