US hits China’s actions near Panatag
Washington—The United States has accused China of “destabilizing” activity near the disputed Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the South China Sea, saying it is using “dubious” environmental explanations to advance its territorial claims.
Scarborough is a fish-rich reef formation 240 kilometers (124 miles) from Luzon and hundreds of km away from mainland China. Both Beijing and Manila claim the flash point coral atoll.
“The United States rejects China’s ongoing attempts to enforce its destabilizing ‘national nature reserve’ at Scarborough Reef and deny Filipino fishermen access to their traditional fishing ground,” US Department of State spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement on Saturday.
“This is yet another unilateral attempt by China to use dubious environmental and legal pretexts, backed by coercion, to advance its sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea at the expense of its neighbors,” Pigott said.
New rules
China recently published new rules on the management of the nature reserve it unilaterally created last year around the shoal, which is under its control.
Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, including the flash point shoal, despite an international ruling that its assertion lacks any legal basis.
China and the Philippines have regularly clashed over disputed territories in the disputed waterway. On July 20, a member of the Philippine Navy suffered a serious head injury after China Coast Guard (CCG) personnel hit him with a wooden baton.
The incident happened at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, which is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, after eight CCG personnel on a boat deliberately approached BRP Sierra Madre, a deliberately grounded World War II ship that serves as the Philippines’ permanent military outpost.
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