By Jia Feimiao | 2025-09-19

China has announced plans to establish a national-level nature reserve on Scarborough Shoal (known as Huangyan Island in China) in the South China Sea, a step widely viewed as an attempt to reinforce its sovereignty claims over the contested feature.

Banning various activities

Scarborough Shoal, a triangular chain of reefs and rocks about 120 nautical miles west of Luzon, is claimed by China, the Philippines and Taiwan. Beijing seized control of the shoal from Manila in 2012, and since then Chinese coast guard ships have regularly patrolled the waters.

On September 9, Beijing issued a directive approving the creation of the reserve. Under China's Regulations on Nature Reserves, activities such as fishing, sand dredging and tourism will be banned in designated areas. China will prohibit entry to the core zone, while scientific research will require prior approval.

The State Council "urged 'intensifying supervision and law enforcement of all illegal and irregular activities involving the nature reserve,'" AFP reported.

Rigorous enforcement

Observers from both China and abroad expect China to back up its words.

"It ... isn't mere talk; PRC [People's Republic of China] has capability to enforce," Collin Koh, senior fellow at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, posted on X.

China will enact "strong supporting measures" against trespassers, Ding Duo, a researcher at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies in Beijing, told the South China Morning Post.

Stepped-up patrols are coming, Yen-Chiang Chang, director of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea Research Institute at Dalian Maritime University, told Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with China Central Television.

Aircraft, coast guard ships, uncrewed boats and aerial drones could be involved.

"Unlike previous patrols, the patrols from now on will focus more on being routine and regular," Chang told Yuyuan Tantian, according to the South China Morning Post.

A Chinese reaction to August 11 collision

Tensions over Scarborough Shoal have risen sharply in recent months. On August 11, a Chinese coast guard ship pursued a Philippine coast guard resupply vessel. The Chinese ship lost control during the chase and collided with a Chinese navy destroyer stationed near the shoal.

Creation of the reserve is "clearly a response to the Aug 11 incident," Koh theorized on X.

"[I]f this Scarborough Shoal nature reserve model succeeds it may potentially expand this scheme to other features in Philippine EEZ [Exclusive Economic Zone]," he added, referring to China.

Since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office three years ago, sovereignty disputes between Manila and Beijing have intensified. In August, China's Xinhua Institute released a report series titled The Truths About the South China Sea, accusing "external forces" of inciting the Philippines to escalate tensions with China.

Others reject Beijing's arguments

Reaction from other countries to the Chinese plan was swift and not accommodating.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs lodged a "strong protest" against the reserve, while Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Año dismissed Beijing's stated environmental motives.

"It is a clear pretext towards eventual occupation," Año said.

The United States "stands with our Philippine ally" in rejecting China's destabilizing move, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X, calling it "yet another coercive attempt to advance China’s interests at the expense of its neighbors and regional stability."

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry called the move evidence of China's hegemonic mindset and a threat to regional peace. Taiwan remains willing to work with the Philippines and other countries to resolve disputes peacefully, it said.

Last month, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung made a rare public visit to the Philippines. Taiwan's Central News Agency cited diplomatic sources saying the trip marked a breakthrough for Taiwan's push to expand diplomatic space and strengthen its strategic partnership with Manila.

Taiwan under President Lai Ching-te appears to be working in parallel with the Philippines in openly criticizing Beijing, Huang Kui-bo, professor of diplomacy at National Chengchi University in Taipei, told Focus.

Rival claimants in the South China "will not only reject Beijing's enforcement but will continue to challenge it," Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, told Focus.