The Philippines “strongly protests” a newly approved Chinese plan to create a nature preserve in Scarborough Shoal, a contested territory claimed by both countries in the South China Sea.
China’s State Council announced plans on Wednesday to build a nature preserve on the 3,500-hectare islet, calling it an “important guarantee for maintaining … diversity, stability and sustainability”.
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The preserve will include “core” and “experimental” zones covering virtually the entire territory, Chinese state media added on Thursday.
The plans drew immediate ire in the Philippines, where the Department of Foreign Affairs promised on Thursday to lodge a “formal diplomatic protest against this illegitimate and unlawful action”.
“Bajo de Masinloc is a longstanding and integral part of the Philippines over which it has sovereignty and jurisdiction,” the department added, using the name given to the shoal by Spanish colonisers.
But China’s Foreign Ministry pushed back on Thursday, saying the area had never been part of Philippine territory and rejecting what it called “groundless accusations or so-called protests” from Manila.
“We urge the Philippines to immediately cease its infringements, provocations, and wanton hype, so as to avoid adding complicating factors to the maritime situation,” spokesman Lin Jian said at a daily press briefing.
Scarborough Shoal, a triangular islet located more than 200km (119 miles) from the Philippines’ Luzon, has been the site of frequent clashes since Beijing seized it from the Philippines in 2012.
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In a recent August incident, Beijing expelled Philippine vessels from waters near the site, while Manila released video footage showing a Chinese navy vessel smashing into one of its own during a chase. And in late April, the Philippines said China was engaging in “dangerous manoeuvres and obstruction” in the area.
China claims Scarborough Shoal based on what it sees as historical sovereignty, traditional fishing use, and its inclusion within the “nine-dash line,” rejecting United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) rulings that favour the Philippines.
Located more than 900km (560 miles) from China’s Hainan, Scarborough Shoal is one of many land masses in the South China Sea subject to overlapping claims from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
The rocky shoal is a traditional fishing ground for Luzon-based fishermen.
In 2016, an arbitration tribunal in The Hague ruled against China’s claims in the South China Sea, claiming there was “no legal basis” for China’s assertion of economic rights in the strategic waterway.
Nonetheless, China has continued to claim large swaths of territory.
Last month, the Philippines, Australia and Canada held joint drills east of Scarborough Shoal to simulate aerial threats.
China, for its part, has insisted it would defend the area and has performed its own aircraft carrier drills.
Nearly 60 percent of global maritime trade passes through the waterway.
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