Beijing claims PH fishers may ruin its Scarborough ‘nature reserve’

Filipino fishers near Scarborough Shoal await aid from a Philippine government ship on Monday, October 13, 2025. — Photo from the Philippine Coast Guard

MANILA, Philippines — For the first time since Beijing’s declaration, the China Coast Guard (CCG) was broadcasting radio challenges to assert its unilateral “nature reserve” claim in Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal, targeting Filipino fishermen there, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Monday.

The PCG documented such radio challenges as its ships and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) encountered what its West Philippine Sea spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela called “dangerous maneuvers and blocking actions” while conducting humanitarian missions for fishermen in Panatag Shoal.

“For the first time, the PCG documented a CCG radio challenge claiming that the presence of Philippine fishing boats could damage their so-called ‘environmental reserve,” Tarriela said in a statement.

“In response, the PCG firmly asserted that Bajo de Masinloc is an integral part of the Philippine archipelago, and only the Philippine government holds the authority to designate environmental protection areas in these waters,” he added.

Aside from China’s novel declaration, Panatag Shoal also saw the presence of 11 CCG ships and 11 Chinese maritime militia vessels, one People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) helicopter and three PLA-N vessels.

READ: PCG resumes Scarborough aid mission after Chinese ships collision

The Chinese flotilla, PCG said, tried to delay the humanitarian operations of PCG’s BRP Teresa Magbanua and BRP Cape San Agustin, as well as the M/V Mamalakaya and six BFAR patrol boats.

Despite this, PCG and BFAR managed to send aid to 50 fishing boats in Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc.

This mission came after the August 11 incident during the same “Kadiwa” aid distribution mission.

The 80-meter CCG ship with hull number 3104 chased PCG’s 44.5-meter BRP Suluan and performed a risky maneuver on it, leading to its collision with 157-meter PLA-N warship with hull number 164.

READ: Chinese ships collide off Scarborough Shoal; PH Coast Guard offers aid

Both Chinese ships suffered damage with CCG-3104’s forecastle being crushed, while BRP Suluan managed to evade the maneuver.

Almost a month after the collision, Beijing announced its plans to establish a so-called “national nature reserve” at Panatag Shoal, which was immediately rejected by Manila and its treaty ally Washington.

READ: PH security council rejects China’s nature reserve at Bajo de Masinloc

Since 2021, China has also claimed to enforce a unilateral annual fishing ban in Scarborough and other parts of South China Sea including West  Philippine Sea.

However, no fishers from the Philippines and those from other countries that are claimants in South China Sea — like Vietnam and Indonesia — have been arrested since this revised fishing moratorium was first implemented.

Since its effective takeover since 2012, China enforced what experts call “exclusion zone enforcement” around the Panatag Shoal, outright flouting the 2016 Arbitral Award which declared the area a traditional fishing ground for the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea but the landmark 2016 international tribunal ruling effectively dismissed this in favor of Manila’s sovereign rights. /das