By Karen Lema
MANILA (Reuters) -The Philippines is closely watching Beijing’s plans for a nature reserve at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, its chief of armed forces said on Friday, adding it was important that the shoal does not become militarised.
Manila has called last month’s announcement by China of plans for a reserve at the shoal a “clear pretext for occupation”.
Philippines’ Armed Forces Chief General Romeo Brawner said his country “will not allow” what happened at Mischief Reef to happen to Scarborough Shoal.
The Philippines claims Mischief Reef, which is within its Exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea, but it was occupied in the 1990s by China, which has since built a military base on it.
“Once they build a structure there, that would be a different story. We have several options that we could do. Diplomatically, we could file protests, but we are watching so that we will not have a repeat of Mischief Reef,” Brawner told a forum organised by foreign correspondents.
Both China and the Philippines claim the Scarborough Shoal, but sovereignty remains unresolved. China took control in 2012 after a standoff and has since stationed its coast guard and fishing vessels there.
A 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague invalidated China’s sweeping claims and declared its blockade illegal, affirming the shoal as a traditional fishing ground for countries like the Philippines and Vietnam. China rejected the ruling.
The Chinese foreign ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
China said a national nature reserve at Scarborough Shoal was important to preserve the atoll’s ecosystem.
Mischief Reef, located west of the Philippines’ Palawan Island, is now one of seven artificial islands that China has built in the South China Sea. It is equipped with a runway, radar systems and surface-to-air missiles.
(Reporting by Karen Lema and Mikhail Flores; Editing by John Mair and Edwina Gibbs)
