[News Terms] China-Philippines Clash on the Brink at 'Scarborough Shoal'

Amid ongoing maritime sovereignty disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, China announced the deployment of naval and air forces in response to a Philippine Navy vessel approaching the waters near Scarborough Shoal. The Philippines is also strongly opposing China, warning it not to trespass in its territorial waters.

Scarborough Shoal is a small coral reef island in the South China Sea effectively controlled by the Philippines. It is located about 230 km from Luzon Island in the Philippines and approximately 1,200 km from Hainan Province in China. The name originates from the East India Company's tea trading ship "Scarborough," which was shipwrecked near this area in 1784. The shoal has a right-angled triangular shape, and including the surrounding lagoons, its total area is about 150 km². It is a strategic point in the South China Sea, believed to contain vast reserves of oil and natural gas beneath the seabed. China refers to this island as "Huangyan Dao (黃岩島)," while the Philippines calls it "Kulumpol ng Panatag."

(South China Sea, Reuters=Yonhap News) On the 22nd (local time), a Chinese Coast Guard vessel blocked a Philippine supply ship approaching Second Thomas Shoal (Chinese name: Ren'ai Jiao, Philippine name: Ayungin) in the South China Sea, where territorial disputes with the Philippines are ongoing. The Philippines stated that the supply ship, which was moving to its outpost in the South China Sea to carry out resupply operations, clashed with the Chinese Coast Guard. [Video footage provided by the Chinese Coast Guard]

On May 20, 2012, China's State Oceanic Administration officially declared the East and South China Sea areas, including Scarborough Shoal and Diaoyu Islands (known as Senkaku in Japan), as Chinese territorial waters, escalating tensions among neighboring countries. China claims Scarborough Shoal as its territory, citing maps created during the Yuan Dynasty that include the shoal. China has occupied the area and deployed maritime patrols to prevent Philippine fishing vessels from approaching.

On the other hand, the Philippines emphasizes that the shoal lies within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and that its fishing vessels have traditionally operated near the island. In January 2013, the Philippines brought the issue to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, Netherlands. In July 2016, the PCA ruled that Scarborough Shoal is a traditional fishing ground for fishermen from China, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and that no country can claim exclusive rights over it. However, China has refused to recognize this ruling.

Recently, tensions between China and the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal have reached a peak. Last month, when China installed barriers in the area, the Philippines dismantled them directly. On the 10th of this month, Chinese maritime police ordered a Philippine Navy vessel that had entered nearby waters to leave. Until now, conflicts had been limited to the coast guard level between the two countries, but with China now deploying military forces, tensions are expected to escalate further.

According to foreign media reports, on the 30th, Tian Junli, spokesperson for the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, announced via the official WeChat account of China's social media that "Philippine frigate No. 39 intruded into waters near Huangyan Dao without permission from the Chinese government," and that "the Southern Theater Command organized naval and air forces to conduct tracking, surveillance, warnings, interdiction, and control in accordance with the law." He stated, "The actions of the Philippines infringe upon China's sovereignty and seriously violate international law and the basic norms of international relations, which could lead to misunderstandings. We have notified the Philippines to cease sovereignty violations and provocations to prevent the situation from escalating."

In response, Eduardo Ano, the Philippine National Security Adviser, said, "(China is) exaggerating this incident" and "creating unnecessary tensions between the two countries." He urged China to "promote a rules-based international order and stop aggressive and illegal actions in Philippine waters."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.