China’s Scarborough Shoal mapping to allow ‘more targeted’ steps against Philippines

Observer says China would not want to provoke confrontation, but would never let the Philippines stir up trouble in the South China Sea

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China has released geographical coordinates marking its claims over Scarborough Shoal, two days after rival claimant the Philippines enacted twin laws to set out its sea boundaries and rights to maritime resources. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:28pm, 11 Nov 2024Updated: 6:57pm, 11 Nov 2024

China’s marking of its territorial line around Scarborough Shoal was “lawful and reasonable” and could help it to take “more targeted” countermeasures against rival claimant the Philippines, Chinese analysts said.

Beijing on Sunday officially published a set of geographical coordinates for 16 base points around the South China Sea atoll it claims as Huangyan Island, purportedly indicating its territorial sea limits.

It was the clearest marking yet of Beijing’s claims over the feature since effectively establishing control over it after a stand-off with the Philippines in 2012.

The move came at a time of rising tensions with Manila amid a string of maritime clashes, and just days after the Philippines enacted two laws to set out its own sea boundaries and rights to maritime resources.

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Beijing condemned Manila for “unlawfully” including Scarborough Shoal, as well as most of the islands and reefs of the Spratly Islands, claimed by China as the Nansha Islands, in the Philippine maritime zones.

According to Chinese state media, the baselines revealed on Sunday were not newly drawn but the announcement was a “direct” response to the Philippine move on Friday.