The waters around Scarborough Shoal erupted once more this week, as Chinese and Philippine coast guard vessels collided in dueling narratives that highlight the South China Sea’s fraught geopolitical stakes.
China’s Narrative vs. the Philippines’ Narrative
Beijing’s Coast Guard claims that more than ten Philippine vessels “illegally intruded” into what it calls Huangyan Island’s territorial waters, with one Philippine vessel allegedly ramming a Chinese ship. The official line frames China’s actions (water cannon use, route restrictions, and close maneuvers) as lawful “control measures.”
Manila rejects this outright. Philippine authorities say their ships were on a humanitarian mission to resupply more than 35 Filipino fishing boats. They accuse Beijing of aggression and disinformation, dismissing Chinese statements as propaganda aimed at legitimizing harassment of fishermen.
Escalation Through Lawfare
The clash comes days after Beijing announced Scarborough Shoal would be designated a “national nature reserve.” Analysts warn this is not about coral reefs or biodiversity, but a carefully staged legal maneuver: a way for China to cloak sovereignty claims in the language of environmentalism.
By creating a conservation framework under domestic Chinese law, Beijing seeks the moral high ground—portraying itself as a steward of ecology while in practice tightening restrictions on Philippine access.
Gray-Zone Tactics
The incident fits a familiar pattern. Instead of deploying its navy, China leans on coast guard and paramilitary fleets to wage what analysts call gray-zone warfare. Water cannons, shadowing maneuvers, barriers across the lagoon entrance, and persistent intimidation allow China to apply pressure without triggering direct armed conflict.
Each encounter tests Manila’s response, gradually shifting the status quo in Beijing’s favor.
Why Scarborough Shoal Matters
At first glance, Scarborough Shoal is just a triangle of reefs and rocks in the South China Sea. In reality, it is a crucial fishing ground and symbolic marker of sovereignty, lying just 150–200 kilometers off the Philippines, well within Manila’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
For Filipino fishermen, access means survival. For China, control of the shoal is part of a broader strategy to dominate the South China Sea and assert primacy over regional waters—challenging not only the Philippines, but ASEAN and the United States as well.
Legal Realities
In 2013, the Philippines filed arbitration under Annex VII of UNCLOS. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 struck down China’s sweeping “nine-dash line” claims as baseless. The tribunal ruled that Beijing had unlawfully restricted Filipino fishing rights at Scarborough Shoal and that Chinese vessels had created serious navigational risks.
China has rejected the ruling, but under international law, Manila’s position remains on solid ground.
The Pattern
This is not an isolated skirmish. It is part of Beijing’s larger playbook:
- Lawfare: Declaring a nature reserve to strengthen claims.
- Propaganda: Blaming Philippine vessels for aggression.
- Coercion: Deploying coast guard ships to normalize Chinese control.
For Manila, backed by the 2016 arbitration ruling, every resupply mission becomes both a humanitarian act and a political statement: Filipinos will not abandon their waters.
Scarborough Shoal has become the stage where China seeks to write its own laws over international waters. Each water cannon blast and each legal maneuver is meant to erode the rights of smaller states. But the Philippines’ resistance (humanitarian, legal, and diplomatic) keeps alive the fight for sovereignty in the South China Sea.
