The National Security Council rejects the People’s Republic of China’s declaration of a so-called “Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve” at Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal). It is patently illegal as it violates UNCLOS, the final and binding 2016 Arbitral Award, and the 2022 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties.
This move by the PRC is less about protecting the environment and more about justifying its control over a maritime feature that is part of the territory of the Philippines and its waters lie within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. It is a clear pretext towards eventual occupation. The irony is clear: since 2016, evidence has shown large-scale harvesting of endangered species and reef destruction by Chinese fishermen, activities even cited by the Arbitral Tribunal. To now claim stewardship over an ecosystem that they themselves has damaged is both contradictory and misleading.
True protection of Bajo de Masinloc demands cooperation, transparency, and respect for international law; not unilateral declarations that restrict access to Filipino fisherfolk under the guise or cover of conservation.
The NSC fully supports the filing by the Department of Foreign Affairs of a formal diplomatic protest against this illegal and illegitimate act by the PRC
