The United States on 8 August formally rejected China’s enforcement of a “national nature reserve” at Scarborough Reef, accusing Beijing of using environmental regulations to block Filipino fishing access and advance territorial claims in the South China Sea. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott described the move as a “destabilizing” unilateral act and said Washington opposes China’s ongoing efforts at the reef.

According to the State Department, China’s recently published management rules for the reserve – created unilaterally the previous year – are “dubious environmental and legal pretexts, backed by coercion,” intended to consolidate control over the flashpoint atoll. Viewed from Washington, the measure is part of a pattern of Chinese behaviour that seeks to impose sweeping maritime claims at the expense of its neighbours. The US statement reaffirmed its treaty alliance with the Philippines and its commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, while calling for peaceful solutions.

Beijing controls Scarborough Shoal, a fish-rich coral formation 240 kilometres from the Philippine island of Luzon and hundreds of kilometres from the Chinese mainland. The new rules formalise management of the nature reserve declared last year. China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea based on historical arguments, and it rejects the 2016 ruling by an arbitral tribunal constituted under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. That award found that China’s expansive claims have no legal basis and affirmed traditional Filipino fishing rights in the area.

The Scarborough Reef has been a persistent flashpoint, with regular confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels. The most recent incidents occurred in July. The US statement reiterated that it stands with the Philippines, but there is no indication of a change in Beijing’s position or a new diplomatic initiative to resolve the dispute.