(Manila/Beijing, comprehensive report on the 12th) The Philippines has strongly protested China's plan to establish a national-level nature reserve on Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea, emphasizing that the Philippines has sovereignty over these waters and asserting that China's move is "paving the way for eventual occupation."
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded by saying that Scarborough Shoal is China's inherent territory, and the Philippines' protest is baseless.
On Thursday (September 11), the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement calling China's plan "illegal and noncompliant," stating that Manila would issue a formal diplomatic protest and urging China to withdraw the plan. The statement emphasized that Scarborough Shoal has been a "longstanding and inseparable part" of the Philippines.
Philippine National Security Adviser Año criticized the move, saying that it was "more about finding an excuse to control part of Philippine territorial waters than about protecting the environment."
After a recent maritime conflict at Scarborough Shoal, Chinese authorities announced on Wednesday (September 10) that they would establish a national-level nature reserve at Scarborough Shoal and increase enforcement against "illegal and violative activities."
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian reiterated at a regular press conference on Thursday that the establishment of the protected area is an affair within China's sphere of sovereignty, aimed at protecting the island's ecological environment, and in compliance with Chinese domestic law and international law. He said: "Scarborough Shoal has never been within the territory of the Philippines, and China does not accept the Philippine side's unreasonable accusations and so-called protests."