China’s ‘Nature Reserve’ At Scarborough Shoal: Why It’s Being Opposed By Philippines And US

Last Updated:September 13, 2025, 09:58 IST

Scarborough Shoal lies inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone but has been under China’s control since 2012.

An aerial view of a China Coast Guard ship navigating near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, in the South China Sea. (REUTERS/File Photo)

On 10 September 2025, China’s State Council approved the creation of a national nature reserve at Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Dao in Chinese, Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal in the Philippines). The official notice described the reserve as “an important guarantee" for maintaining the shoal’s “diversity, stability and sustainability."

The reserve will cover about 3,524 hectares of the atoll, according to China’s Forestry and Grassland Administration. Maps released by Chinese authorities divide it into zones: a core area completely closed to people, a buffer zone for scientific research, and an experimental zone where limited visits may be allowed.

Under Chinese law, foreigners must seek Beijing’s approval to enter, which would include Filipino fishermen who have used these waters for generations.

Where is Scarborough Shoal?

Scarborough Shoal is a triangle-shaped chain of reefs and rocks in the South China Sea. It lies just 200 kilometres from Luzon, the Philippines’ largest island, but more than 800 kilometres from China’s Hainan province.

Uninhabited but strategically important, the shoal’s lagoon provides shelter for fishing boats during storms, while its surrounding waters are rich in fish stocks that feed coastal communities in Zambales and Pangasinan. The shoal also sits near vital shipping lanes through which over $3 trillion in global trade passes every year. This makes it valuable not only to claimants but also to the wider world, as control of Scarborough allows monitoring and influence over one of the busiest maritime routes on the planet.

Who Claims The Shoal?

Both the Philippines and China claim Scarborough Shoal. The dispute escalated in 2012, when a standoff between the Philippine Navy and Chinese vessels ended with Beijing taking de facto control. Since then, China’s coast guard and maritime militia have maintained a near-constant presence, often blocking Filipino fishermen from entering the lagoon.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China’s sweeping “nine-dash line" claims had no legal basis under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The tribunal also declared China’s blockade of Scarborough unlawful and affirmed it as a traditional fishing ground for multiple countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam. However, it did not assign sovereignty. China rejected the ruling outright.

Beijing has since formalised its presence step by step. In 2024, it declared unilateral territorial baselines around the shoal, a move Manila strongly protested.

Why Does The Philippines Call It Illegal?

For Manila, the reserve is not about conservation but control. The shoal lies well within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from its coast under UNCLOS.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs called the plan “illegitimate and unlawful," while Security Adviser Eduardo Año described it as “a clear pretext towards eventual occupation."

Officials argue that while UNCLOS allows environmental protection, it does not permit a country to use conservation rules as a cover to enforce sovereignty inside another nation’s EEZ.

Fishermen Affected

For coastal communities in northern Luzon, the issue is about survival, not high politics. Generations of fishermen from Zambales and Pangasinan have relied on Scarborough’s waters for their livelihoods.

That access has become harder since 2012. Filipino boats frequently report being confronted by Chinese coast guard ships and blocked from the lagoon. Many now venture farther out to sea, often returning with smaller catches while burning more fuel and taking on greater risk.

The announcement of a reserve has deepened those fears. “Even now there has been harassment… We will be bullied even more," 57-year-old fisherman Mariano Cardenio told Reuters, recalling three decades of fishing at Scarborough. Another fisherman, 47-year-old Ruel Villanueva, said: “We will have a hard time fishing since China is asserting ownership even if it doesn’t belong to China."

Philippine security officials warned that the plan could mean tighter patrols, confiscation of gear, or even arrests, measures that would further erode the livelihoods of coastal communities.

Is This About The Environment, Or About Control?

Beijing says the reserve is about protecting coral reefs and biodiversity. The Forestry and Grassland Administration described it as an “important safeguard" for the ecosystem, while commentators in the state-run Global Times called it a “strong rebuttal" to accusations of environmental harm.

But scepticism is widespread. A 2023 report by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and Studies (CSIS) estimated that Chinese island-building projects had buried around 4,648 acres of coral reefs, while giant clam harvesting by Chinese crews damaged a further 16,353 acres. Much of that destruction was linked to dredging and land reclamation in the Spratly and Paracel Islands.

Philippine officials point to this record as proof that Beijing’s conservation claim is hollow. The Philippine NSA has called it “contradictory and misleading," given the years of documented reef destruction by Chinese fishermen and dredgers.

Independent analysts have voiced similar doubts. Jay Batongbacal, a maritime expert at the University of the Philippines, told Reuters that China’s use of conservation language is a “thinly veiled attempt to tighten Beijing’s claims." In his analysis, branding Scarborough as a reserve provides political cover for stepped-up patrols and restrictions.

How Has The United States And Others Reacted?

The United States quickly backed Manila. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called China’s plan “destabilising" and urged Beijing to respect the 2016 tribunal ruling. Washington also reminded Beijing that the 1951 Mutual Defence Treaty with the Philippines covers armed attacks on Philippine forces or vessels in the South China Sea. That means any clash at Scarborough could, in theory, draw in US forces.

Meanwhile, the Philippines has stepped up coordination with allies. It carried out joint patrols with the US and Japan near the shoal shortly after the reserve was announced. Australia and Canada have also joined naval drills in the same waters. Chinese state media, in turn, accused Manila of “bringing in outside powers" to complicate the dispute.

Why Set Up A Reserve Now?

The timing of the announcement is not accidental. Beijing has been rolling out a series of new conservation projects in 2025 as part of a national drive to present itself as a global environmental leader.

At the same time, the move fits into a pattern of steadily tightening Chinese control over the shoal. China first seized Scarborough in 2012 after a standoff with the Philippine Navy. Four years later, when the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that Beijing’s sweeping “nine-dash line" claims had no basis in international law, China rejected the verdict outright. In 2024, it went further by declaring unilateral territorial baselines around the shoal, a step Manila strongly protested.

Analysts told Reuters that the reserve is the next step in that sequence. By publishing maps, boundaries, and zoning rules, Beijing creates an administrative framework that normalises its jurisdiction.

The timing is also telling. In August, a Chinese navy destroyer collided with a China Coast Guard vessel while both were manoeuvring near a Philippine patrol boat at the shoal, badly damaging the warship’s bow. That same month, Filipino boats reported being hit with water cannons, while Beijing claimed, and Washington denied, that it had expelled a US Navy ship. Announcing a reserve so soon after those incidents signals, in Manila’s eyes, that Beijing intends not just to stay but to entrench its presence under the cover of ecological protection.

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