WASHINGTON. The United States reaffirmed its support for the Philippines on Friday, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio denouncing China’s reported plan to declare Scarborough Shoal a nature preserve in the South China Sea.
“Beijing claiming Scarborough Reef as a nature preserve is yet another coercive attempt to advance sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea at the expense of its neighbors,” Rubio said in a statement.
Scarborough Shoal, located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, has been under China’s control since 2012. The area is closely monitored by Chinese vessels, and Filipino fishermen have raised concerns that Beijing’s plan could further restrict their operations.
China asserts sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, a vital maritime route through which more than $3 trillion in trade passes annually, despite overlapping claims by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Rubio stressed that China’s moves undermined regional stability and urged Beijing to comply with the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which found that China had unlawfully barred Filipino fishermen from Scarborough Shoal.
On Saturday, the Philippine government said its navy conducted operations with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and Japan’s maritime forces near islands in Zambales province, about 120 nautical miles from Scarborough.
Meanwhile, China’s state-run Global Times reported that Manila had engaged in a “joint patrol” in the South China Sea with unnamed nations from outside the region.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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