The institution's representatives claim that many may be affected by the incident

Apr 20, 2012 07:50 GMT  ·  By

Users who visited the University of the Philippines’ site a few hours ago, were greeted by the work of some hackers who wanted to highlight the fact that the Scarborough Shoal region, a highly disputed area off the coast of the Philippines, belongs to China. 

“The University of the Philippines System website (up.edu.ph) is currently undergoing maintenance.

“The UP Computer Center is conducting an evaluation of the website and its contents. This website will be restored to its operational status as soon as the maintenance checks have been completed. Thank you,” reads a message currently posted on the site’s main page.

GMA News reports that the hackers altered the site to display a map that shows the territories claimed by China, including parts of the Philippines and Malaysia.

The site’s administrators are currently working on restoring it, but University of the Philippines representatives fear that many may be affected by this downtime.