PH files diplomatic protest vs. China over Scarborough Shoal plan

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday said it has formally filed a diplomatic protest against China over its plan to establish a nature reserve in the Scarborough Shoal, which is within Manila's waters but being claimed by Beijing as its own.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Angelica Escalona did not say if the Chinese ambassador was summoned to receive the note verbale last Friday.

"The Department filed a protest yesterday, which is a strong, unequivocal and formal articulation of Philippine objections to the Chinese action," Escalona said in a statement.

Manila has repeatedly declared that provocative moves, such as construction activities at the shoal, which it calls Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal, are considered "red lines" or non-negotiable and unacceptable actions for the Philippines.

The National Maritime Council urged China to respect the Philippines’ jurisdiction over the shoal and to stop actions that threaten regional peace and stability.

"We call on China to positively contribute to creating a conducive atmosphere through dialogue and diplomacy that reduces tensions and provides the space for constructive engagement in the maritime domain," the NMC said in a statement.

China approved the creation of a national nature reserve at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, its government announced on September 10, as Beijing moves to reinforce its territorial claims and maritime rights in the contested region. Beijing calls the shoal Huangyan Island.

The United States, a long-time Philippine treaty ally, backed Manila's strong opposition to China's plan to turn the shoal into a "national nature reserve," calling it "another coercive attempt to advance sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea."

Such actions, according US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, "undermine regional stability" and demanded China to stop preventing Filipino fishermen from accessing the area, which has been legally declared as traditional fishing grounds.

Sought for comment, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines referred GMA News Online to remarks by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on the issue. 

In a press conference in Beijing on Thursday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said that establishing the natural reserve is within China's sovereign rights, aimed at protecting the area's ecological diversity and sustainability.

"China does not accept the Philippines' groundless accusations and so-called protests," the spokesman said.

The shoal, a U-shaped rocky outcrop teeming with marine resources was seized by China from Manila in 2012 following a two-month standoff, triggering an arbitration complaint by Manila 10 years ago. 

The arbitration court in The Hague, Netherlands invalidated China's sweeping claims over the South China Sea in 2016, but ruled that Scarborough is a traditional fishing ground for Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese fishermen.

It also ruled that Beijing violated the rights of Filipinos, who were blocked by the China Coast Guard from fishing in the disputed shoal off northwestern Philippines.

Manila maintains it has sovereignty over the shoal, saying "it forms an integral part of the Philippine national territory under the Constitution."

Scarborough is 472 nautical miles from China's nearest coastal province of Hainan and lies 124 nautical miles off the nearest Philippine landmass of Zambales.

Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Parts of the South China Sea that fall within Philippine territory have been renamed by the government as West Philippine Sea to reinforce the country's claim.

The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago including Luzon Sea and the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

China has refused to recognize the decision. — with reports from Jamil Santos and Jiselle Anne Casucian/ VDV/VBL, GMA Integrated News