PH officials: Unlawful for China to declare ‘nature reserve’ at disputed shoal
The Philippines protested on Thursday China’s announcement that it would establish a “nature reserve” at Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough) Shoal which is a violation of international law because it is located within Manila’s exclusive economic and maritime zone.
“Bajo de Masinloc is a longstanding and integral part of the Philippines over which it has sovereignty and jurisdiction. The Philippines likewise has the exclusive authority to establish environmental protection areas over its territory and relevant maritime zones,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.
“The Philippines will be issuing a formal diplomatic protest against this illegitimate and unlawful action by China as it clearly infringes upon the rights and interests of the Philippines in accordance with international law,” it added.
Red line
The DFA urged Beijing to respect the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the Philippines over Bajo de Masinloc, withdraw its state council issuance and comply with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 2016 arbitral award on the South China Sea and the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
The Philippines has declared that any Chinese construction at Bajo de Masinloc, which Beijing, Manila and Taiwan all claim, would be a red line.
Beijing announced on Wednesday that the State Council of China had approved the establishment of the so-called “Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve” at the shoal, which has been the scene of frequent showdowns between Chinese and Philippine vessels.
Last month, a Chinese navy ship collided with a China Coast Guard vessel while trying to block a Philippine Coast Guard vessel near Bajo de Masinloc.
Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez said that while Beijing was trying to depict the move as an environmental protection effort, “it’s obviously another maneuvering move … to justify their 10-dash line claim,” referring to China’s expansive claims in the strategic waterway, which it demarcates with dashes on its map.
The National Security Council (NSC), meanwhile, called the move “patently illegal” and a threat to Philippine sovereignty.
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año agreed with Romualdez and said Beijing’s action was part of a deceptive pattern of behavior that even predates the “patently illegal” claim of a 10-dash line in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea.
Deceptive behavior
“True protection of Bajo de Masinloc demands cooperation, transparency and respect for international law; not unilateral declarations that restrict access to Filipino fisherfolk under the guise of conservation,” Año said in a statement.
Since the 1970s, giant clams which thrive in the area were prized in China as a supposed aphrodisiac, for carvings, jewelry and other ornaments—as status symbols for the wealthy and protective Buddhist charms.
In a 2012 report, National Geographic noted that Tridacna gigas, the largest giant clam species, was nearly extinct in the Philippines and South China Sea, and revealed an incident where a Chinese fishing boat was found loaded with corals, live sharks, and giant clam shells at Scarborough Shoal.
The investigation later found that the corals, giant clam carvings and giant clam shells were being sold in the port town of Tanmen in Hainan, China.
The National Geographic investigation showed that the illegal trade in endangered species had boomed as a handicraft in Hainan and the South China Sea was its epicenter.
