In a move to assert its territorial claims and maritime rights in the contested South China Sea, China’s coast guard on Tuesday said it had “taken control measures” against multiple Philippine vessels near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
The Philippines and China have been engaged in a long-running maritime standoff in the strategic waterway that has included regular clashes between coast guard ships and massive naval exercises.
Taking The Moral High Ground
China approved plans to turn Scarborough Shoal – which Beijing calls Huangyan Island and which is known in the Philippines as the Panatag Shoal – into a national nature reserve last week, without announcing its specific boundaries.
Analysts said the move amounted to China trying to take the moral high ground in the dispute between Beijing and Manila over the atoll, part of a wider contest over sovereignty and fishing access in the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.
The Philippines embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“On September 16, the China Coast Guard took control measures against a number of Philippine officials vessels operating illegally in the territorial waters of the Scarborough Shoal in accordance with the law,” the coast guard said on its official WeChat, a social media platform.
South China Sea Disputes
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, overlapping the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Unresolved disputes have festered for years over ownership of various islands and features.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled that China’s sweeping claims in the region were not supported by international law, a decision that Beijing rejects.
Warning Against Provocations
On September 14, a spokesperson for the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command said the Philippines must immediately stop provoking incidents and escalating tensions in the South China Sea.
“We sternly warn the Philippine side to immediately stop provoking incidents and escalating tensions in the South China Sea, as well as bringing in external forces for backing such efforts that are destined to be futile,” the spokesperson said.
“Any attempt to stir up trouble or disrupt the situation will not succeed.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
