Scarborough Shoal: China’s Nature Reserve Draws Philippine Protest
Why in the news
China’s State Council approved a Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve at Scarborough Shoal on 10 September 2025. The Philippines has strongly opposed the plan.
Key facts
- The reserve covers the shoal’s northeast rim, with a core zone and an experimental zone.
- Manila argues it could shut Filipino fishermen out of traditional fishing grounds.
- Scarborough Shoal is a triangular coral atoll with a lagoon, about 220 km east of Luzon; another report gives roughly 200 km from the Philippine coast.
- Claimants: China, the Philippines and Taiwan.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1946-2012 | Philippines administers the shoal |
| 2012 | China takes de facto control |
| 12 July 2016 | Tribunal rules shoal is a rock; sovereignty not decided |
| 10 Sep 2025 | China approves nature reserve |
About the 2016 award
A tribunal under UNCLOS held that China’s historic-rights claims within the nine-dash line had no lawful effect and that the shoal, as a rock, generates no exclusive economic zone. The shoal lies near shipping routes carrying about USD 3 trillion of annual trade.
Exam angle
- Location: South China Sea, off Luzon; also called Huangyan Island.
- The 2016 PCA award did not decide sovereignty.
- UNCLOS 1982 defines the EEZ at the centre of this dispute.