China’s latest moves in the South China Sea have set off alarm bells in Manila and beyond, as the Philippines pushes back against what it sees as a fresh attempt by Beijing to cement control over one of the region’s most hotly contested maritime features. The spark this time? A sweeping plan by China’s State Council to designate a 3,523-hectare national nature reserve at Scarborough Shoal, a coral reef ecosystem that’s been at the center of a tense standoff between the two countries for more than a decade.
Announced in early September 2025, the new reserve covers the northern section of Scarborough Shoal, known to Filipinos as Bajo De Masinloc and to Chinese authorities as Huangyan Dao. According to Xinhua, China’s state media outlet, the initiative divides the shoal into core, experimental, and main protection zones, with the State Council instructing government departments and local authorities to "strictly implement the regulations on nature reserves, as well as provisions related to the development and management of protected areas."
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs didn’t waste any time responding. On September 15, it lodged a formal diplomatic protest, arguing that Scarborough Shoal "is a longstanding and integral part of the Philippines over which it has sovereignty and jurisdiction." The protest underscores a bitter and ongoing dispute: Scarborough Shoal sits just 120 miles from the Philippines’ largest island, well within the country’s exclusive economic zone, but China claims the area as sovereign national territory and has maintained a near-constant presence there since a dramatic standoff in 2012.
For the Philippines, China’s new conservation plan is less about environmental stewardship and more about tightening its grip on the shoal. The State Council’s announcement makes clear that the reserve will "strengthen supervision and law enforcement against all types of illegal and irregular activities" within Scarborough Shoal. That’s a message Manila sees as a direct threat to its own vessels—both military and civilian—operating in the area.
Ben Lewis, co-founder of the monitoring group PLATracker, told USNI News, "I would say that this is yet another example of the PRC (People’s Republic of China) using ‘lawfare’ as a tool to assert a new status quo in favor of its illegal territorial claims in the region." Lewis pointed to a pattern in which China leverages "arbitrary legality" to justify its actions, predicting that the new reserve would be used to further restrict Philippine access and justify aggressive law enforcement tactics.
Those tactics have already been on vivid display. According to USNI News, Chinese forces have repeatedly blocked Philippine government and civilian vessels from operating near or within the shoal, using everything from water cannons and lasers to long-range acoustic devices and ramming maneuvers. The situation escalated in August 2025, when a collision occurred between a Chinese 052D-class guided missile destroyer and a cutter during one such interdiction operation. The incident highlighted just how quickly tensions can flare in these crowded, contested waters.
China’s approach has drawn sharp criticism from environmental and security experts alike. Ray Powell, director of the SeaLight Project at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, told USNI News, "This isn’t environmental protection – it’s environmental lawfare." Powell argued that China’s conservation rhetoric rings hollow given its own track record: "Chinese fishermen exploited Scarborough Shoal for more than a decade through highly destructive methods." A 2025 report from the Center of Strategic and International Studies found that China has destroyed up to 4,648 acres of coral reef in the South China Sea since 2013.
"Now it seeks to consolidate its sovereignty claim while deflecting attention from the ecological damage it caused," Powell said. He didn’t mince words in describing the situation: "It’s like an arsonist promoting himself to fire marshal over the ruins of a building he stole and burned."
Beyond the environmental debate, experts warn that the new reserve could pave the way for an even greater Chinese military presence. Collin Koh, a research fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told USNI News that the declaration could enable China to construct research facilities, civilian outposts, or ocean monitoring stations within the reserve. "They would of course also be used as some sort of test balloon to see how far the envelope can be pushed, including the possibility of building a small outpost in the name of guarding the nature reserve, or to ‘facilitate’ tourism and sightseeing activities," Koh explained. "It could even be a scientific research station. All these would mean some form of limited construction activities."
Koh believes that Manila should continue supporting its civilian fishing efforts near the shoal to challenge Chinese claims, but he also warned that Philippine government and civilian vessels may face a "more challenging operational environment" as a result of China’s latest move.
Indeed, the Philippines is already feeling the squeeze. Chinese destroyers, frigates, and fighter jets have been deployed to the area in recent months, supporting efforts by the China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia to deny Philippine access to the shoal. The recent collision is just the latest in a string of confrontations that have made Scarborough Shoal a flashpoint in the broader struggle for control of the South China Sea.
Adding to the region’s volatility, China on September 16, 2025, sent its newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, to the South China Sea. According to multiple reports, including coverage by USNI News, the deployment is intended for testing and training purposes. However, the timing—coming on the heels of the Scarborough Shoal announcement and the recent maritime collision—has not gone unnoticed in Manila. The presence of the Fujian carrier only adds to China’s growing military assertiveness in the region, further complicating efforts to resolve disputes peacefully.
The Scarborough Shoal dispute is not just a bilateral issue between China and the Philippines. It’s part of a much larger contest over the South China Sea, a vital waterway rich in resources and strategic significance. Over the past three decades, China has transformed its presence in the region from humble fisherman shelters to full-fledged military bases, using land reclamation and forward-deployed forces to shift the balance of power.
For many observers, China’s nature reserve plan looks less like a genuine effort to protect the environment and more like a calculated move to entrench its claims and expand its reach. As Powell put it, "Now it seeks to consolidate its sovereignty claim while deflecting attention from the ecological damage it caused." The Philippines, for its part, seems determined not to let the move go unchallenged, insisting on its rights and vowing to maintain its presence in the disputed waters.
With new construction, military deployments, and diplomatic protests all swirling around Scarborough Shoal, the South China Sea remains as contentious—and as consequential—as ever. The world will be watching closely to see how far China is willing to push, and how the Philippines and its allies respond in the months ahead.