US condemns Beijing’s South China Sea ‘nature reserve’ plan

China’s program to physique a quality reserve successful the Scarborough Shoal brings beardown responses from the Philippines and US.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has expressed enactment for Manila’s opposition to Beijing’s program to designate the contested Scarborough Shoal arsenic a “nature reserve”, characterising the determination arsenic portion of a broader Chinese strategy of coercion successful the South China Sea.

“The US stands with our Philippine state successful rejecting China’s destabilising plans to found a ‘national quality reserve’ astatine Scarborough Reef,” Rubio wrote connected the X societal media level connected Friday.

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“This is yet different coercive effort to beforehand China’s interests astatine the disbursal of its neighbours and determination stability,” Rubio said.

“… Claiming Scarborough Reef arsenic a quality sphere is different illustration of Beijing utilizing unit tactics to propulsion expansive maritime and territorial claims, disregarding the rights of neighbouring countries,” helium added successful a statement.

On Wednesday, China’s State Council revealed its volition to found a quality reserve spanning 3,500 hectares (8,650 acres) connected the disputed islet, describing the inaugural arsenic an “important warrant for maintaining … diversity, stableness and sustainability”.

While Scarborough Shoal lies 240km (150 miles) westbound of the Philippines’ main land of Luzon and is included successful the country’s exclusive economical zone, it has been nether Beijing’s power since 2012.

A Philippine sportfishing vessel sails past a Chinese coastguard vessel aft it was blocked from sailing adjacent the Chinese-controlled Scarborough Shoal successful the disputed waters of the South China Sea [File: Ted Aljibe/AFP]

China’s quality reserve plans drew a drawstring of beardown responses from the Philippines, wherever the Department of Foreign Affairs promised connected Thursday to lodge a “formal diplomatic protestation against this illegitimate and unlawful action”.

According to the Philippine Star quality outlet, Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said China’s planned “Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve” is “patently illegal”.

Ano cited violations of the United Nations Convention connected the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the 2016 arbitral ruling successful favour of Manila regarding China’s claims successful the sea, and the 2002 Declaration connected the Conduct of Parties successful the South China Sea.

“This determination by the People’s Republic of China is little astir protecting the situation and much astir justifying its power implicit a maritime diagnostic that is portion of the territory of the Philippines and its waters prevarication wrong the exclusive economical portion of the Philippines,” Ano was quoted successful the newspaper.

“It is simply a wide pretext towards eventual occupation,” helium said.

Leading Filipino concern paper BusinessWorld included excerpts from analysts who said Beijing is apt investigating Manila’s resoluteness successful asserting its assertion implicit the region.

“China volition apt privation to spot what the effect volition beryllium from the Philippines,” said Julio S. Amador III, main enforcement serviceman astatine Manila-based geopolitical hazard steadfast Amador Research Services.

“If it sees that determination is nary effectual pushback, past determination is simply a beardown anticipation that it volition effort to bash the aforesaid implicit different features,” Amador said.

Last month, the Philippines, Australia and Canada held associated naval drills eastbound of Scarborough Shoal to simulate aerial attacks and however to antagonistic specified threats.

China, for its part, has insisted it volition support the area.

China asserts sovereignty implicit astir the full South China Sea – a strategical maritime corridor done which much than $3 trillion successful commercialized passes each twelvemonth – contempt competing territorial claims from the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies