Another territory grab

China’s latest provocation in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) has triggered protests not only from the Philippines and its longstanding defense ally, the United States, but also, as of last count, Canada, Australia, Japan, Denmark, and the European Union.

That is one hefty opposition plank, and for good reason: Beijing’s announced plan to establish a “national nature reserve” in Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground for generations of Filipino fishermen and a maritime feature well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), is a grave escalation of dangerous behavior that has unsettling implications for the larger international community.

It is, first of all, a patently illegal act. The 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling is clear: China’s so-called “nine-dash line” which underpins its claims to nearly the entire South China Sea is a spurious principle with no historical or legal basis. The Philippines has ownership of and territorial sovereignty over its EEZ, and Scarborough Shoal, located just about 124 nautical miles (around 229 kilometers) off Zambales, is obviously part of that EEZ.

Moreover, the arbitration process was done under the auspices of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which China is a signatory. Canada made this plain yet again in its embassy statement objecting to China’s planned “nature reserve”: “Canada recognizes the rights of states in the region, including the Philippines, to exercise sovereign rights and jurisdiction within their exclusive economic zones in accordance with international law.”

Intimidating presence

International law has spoken, and yet China has kept up its bullying behavior undeterred. Over the years, it has seized islets and atolls in the WPS, turned them into bristling military outposts, ravaged the marine environment underneath, and has relentlessly harassed and water-cannoned Filipino service vessels and fishermen who venture into the Philippines’ very own waters.

While no permanent Chinese structures have been erected on Scarborough Shoal, Chinese ships have essentially fenced off the area by shooing away Filipino and other boats from it, and keeping a regular intimidating presence around the shoal. Just last month, two Chinese vessels—a China Coast Guard ship and a People’s Liberation Army Navy destroyer—collided in waters off Scarborough while they were pursuing a Philippine Coast Guard ship.

Would that tragedy perhaps chasten Asia’s bully, make it rethink its ways? Apparently not. Because now it’s spiking tensions even more with its plan to establish a 3,523-hectare “nature reserve” in the northeastern zone of Scarborough Shoal, ostensibly to monitor and help maintain the “diversity, stability and sustainability” of the shoal’s “natural ecosystem.”

Wanton damage

Never mind that those words emanate from the country that has inflicted the most wanton damage to the ecosystem in the South China Sea: some 4,648 acres of reef destroyed since 2013 to dredge up sand and build its artificial islands. In addition, Chinese giant clam harvesting has damaged about 16,353 acres of coral reef, according to reports.

For all its stated lofty aims, clearly this move has nothing to do with science or research or environmental protection. It is simply a pretext for yet another forceful grab of territory by China in waters not its own. Beijing is applying the same deplorable playbook it has done for other WPS features such as Mischief Reef and Subi Reef: Unilaterally declare a feature as Chinese territory, take over willy-nilly, and present the occupation to the world as a fait accompli.

The Philippines and the international community cannot allow such unlawful, predatory actions to happen again in the case of Scarborough Shoal. The Marcos administration has filed a diplomatic protest, but at this point, that is a toothless resort, since Beijing ignores by default whatever diplomatic protest Manila lodges over the recurring misbehavior of its giant neighbor.

Flashpoint region

It’s high time Manila went back to the arbitral tribunal, or find a similar high-profile and credible international platform, where it can sue and hold Beijing to account. Not only must China be required to comply with the 2016 arbitral ruling—a “final and legally binding” decision, said Japan’s Ambassador Endo Kazuya—but it must also cease all activities in the South China Sea that undermine the rule of law and add more fire to what has become a flashpoint region of the world.

This is a campaign the global community must also involve itself in, because the arbitral ruling that clarifies the rules and pushes back against China’s attempt to impose a chokehold on the South China Sea benefits not only the Philippines, but also the other claimant countries, and the rest of the world.

What’s at stake, after all, is nothing less than the critical waterway through which over $3 trillion of the world’s goods pass each year, and peace in the region.