The Chinese authorities have greenlighted a proposal to set up a natural reserve at a contested shoal that it has seized control of from the Philippines in the South China Sea, according to China’s State Council.
The State Council said in a written response to the Ministry of Natural Resources, published on Sept. 10, that details such as area, scope, and functional subversions of the new reserve will be released by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the Philippines’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
Huangyan Island is the name the Chinese regime gave to Scarborough Shoal, a triangle-shaped coral reef in the South China Sea that has reemerged as a flashpoint in the longstanding tensions between Beijing and Manila.
Located to the west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, Scarborough is rich in natural resources and a vital fishing ground for local Filipino villagers. International law recognizes the area as part of the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but China has seized control of it since 2012.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) asserts sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, overlapping the EEZs of its neighbors, which also include Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.
Footage released by the Philippine coast guard shortly after the incident showed a battered bow on the Chinese coast guard ship. The PLA navy vessel also appeared to have visible dents on its hull, according to the footage.
The Chinese coast guard acknowledged the encounter near the feature, but it didn’t mention the collision
The incident in the key global trade route sparked concerns in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the European Union. The United States also condemned the “reckless action” by China directed against the Philippine vessel.
On Aug. 13, two days after the incident, the U.S. Navy sailed its warships near the Scarborough Shoal to challenge Beijing’s claims and promote freedom of navigation. The Chinese military claimed that it had tracked and driven away the USS Higgins, a U.S. Navy destroyer that it claimed entered the waters around Scarborough Shoal without permission—a statement rejected by the U.S. military.
“China’s statement about this mission is false,” the U.S. Seventh Fleet told The Epoch Times at the time. “The United States is defending its right to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, as USS Higgins did here. Nothing China says otherwise will deter us.”
A June report from the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank, found that China’s presence has expanded to include additional patrols east of the Scarborough Shoal “aimed at intercepting Philippine ships,” leading to frequent encounters.
“The confluence of increasingly frequent aerial encounters and maritime interactions near Scarborough Shoal inevitably increases the chance of accidental escalation between Chinese and Philippine forces, which could ultimately trigger U.S. treaty obligations and risk spiraling into a wider conflict.”
