A civilian-led mission joined by at least 100 fishermen embarks in May 2024 to the Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea to assert the Philippines’ territorial claim. The shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, is a fishing ground within the Philippine maritime territory that was occupied by the Chinese a decade ago. File Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA
China’s surprise declaration of a new nature reserve at Scarborough Shoal is more than a nod to environmental stewardship.
It is a carefully calculated maneuver that fuses ecological language with geopolitical ambition, placing one of the South China Sea’s most hotly contested reefs at the nexus of two global struggles: the race to protect biodiversity and the competition for maritime dominance.
Scarborough Shoal, a triangular chain of reefs and rocks about 120 miles off the Philippine coast, is more than a flashpoint between Beijing and Manila. It is a living vault of marine biodiversity.
The shoal is claimed by both nations, but effectively controlled by China since 2012. It has become a symbol of China’s growing maritime reach, often enforced by coast guard vessels and maritime militia.
By suddenly designating the shoal as a protected area, Beijing not only is asserting its sovereignty but also signaling a new willingness to cloak its territorial moves in the language of conservation.
The timing is no accident.
This debate lands against the backdrop of a far larger environmental emergency. Biodiversity loss now stands shoulder to shoulder with climate change as a global crisis. Scientists warn that up to 1 million species are at risk of extinction, driven by overfishing, habitat destruction and warming seas.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted at COP15 in 2022, pledged to protect 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030 (30×30)). But with just five years left, the gap between promises and progress is stark, and China, as host of COP15 and the world’s second-largest economy, faces heightened expectations.
Seen in this light, the Scarborough Shoal reserve can be read as Beijing’s attempt to demonstrate leadership in meeting 30×30. China must balance its conservation commitments with the demands of feeding and employing 1.4 billion people, sustaining industrial growth and managing vast coastlines under pressure from overfishing and pollution.
Establishing marine protected areas is one of the most visible ways to claim progress. Yet, the choice of Scarborough Shoal — a disputed territory rich in symbolism –underscores that environmental designations are not merely ecological. They are political.
The contested shoal’s shallow lagoon and fringing reefs provide habitat for more than 200 species of fish, including prized stocks such as grouper, snapper and mackerel. Its coral gardens house giant clams, sea cucumbers and green sea turtles — species that are both ecologically vital and commercially valuable.
The Philippines has already voiced concern, interpreting the move as yet another attempt by China to consolidate control. Scarborough’s waters are critical fishing grounds for Filipino fishermen, who have faced repeated harassment by Chinese maritime patrols.
For Manila, China’s declaration of a “nature reserve” looks less like conservation and more like another obstacle to traditional fishing livelihoods, cloaked in the language of environmental stewardship.
Washington, bound by a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines, has also sharpened its criticism, warning that Beijing must not use the guise of protection as a cover for coercion.
Still, Beijing’s strategy is shrewd. By aligning itself with global biodiversity goals, China complicates the narrative. Rather than appearing solely as an aggressor, it positions itself as a guardian of fragile ecosystems.
Coral reefs, like those at Scarborough, are among the most endangered marine habitats, vital not only for biodiversity, but also for coastal protection and food security. Who can argue against protecting them? This tension — between genuine ecological need and geopolitical exploitation — sits at the heart of China’s gambit.
Other nations have employed similar strategies. In the Arctic, Russia and Canada have invoked environmental stewardship as they extend control over contested waters. In Africa, governments have declared reserves that serve both conservation and political purposes, sometimes displacing local communities in the process. What makes Scarborough distinct is the combination of high-stakes great power rivalry and urgent ecological necessity.
The broader question is whether such “green claims” advance or undermine global conservation efforts.
On the one hand, more protected areas mean more habitats safeguarded from exploitation. On the other, if these designations are driven by sovereignty disputes rather than ecological science, they risk eroding trust in the very idea of conservation. The danger is that biodiversity protection becomes yet another arena for strategic competition, diluting its credibility.
There is also an opportunity here. If China’s move prompts regional and global actors to pay greater attention to marine protection, it could catalyze overdue action.
The South China Sea is one of the world’s richest and most overexploited fisheries, sustaining tens of millions of people. Cooperative frameworks for conservation — if they can be disentangled from territorial disputes — could help preserve ecosystems and livelihoods. International law, through the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, offers mechanisms for joint management, though political will remains elusive.
Ultimately, Scarborough Shoal has become a microcosm of 21st-century challenges. Protecting biodiversity is no longer a separate, apolitical endeavor. It intersects with sovereignty, economics and security. China’s declaration forces the world to confront this reality. The reef is both a fragile ecological treasure and a strategic pawn in a geopolitical chess match.
The task ahead is to ensure that conservation does not become collateral damage in great power rivalry. That requires transparency, science-based management and, above all, international cooperation. Without it, reserves declared in the name of nature risk serving only as tools of power projection.
China’s Scarborough gambit leaves the world with a paradox: a disputed shoal transformed into a symbol of both hope and hazard. If the 30×30 goal is to succeed, the global community must decide whether contested waters can be protected for the planet — or claimed for politics.
James Borton is a non-resident senior fellow at Johns Hopkins SAIS Foreign Policy Institute and the author of Harvesting the Waves: How Blue Parks Shape Policy, Politics, and Peacebuilding in the South China Sea.
