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Liu Zhen

China has approved the construction of a marine environmental observation station to monitor an area that includes the disputed Scarborough Shoal, a persistent flashpoint in tensions with the Philippines in the South China Sea.
The Zhongsha Islands Marine Ecological and Environmental Field Observation and Research Station, proposed by the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology (SCSIO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was given the green light on July 31, the SCSIO announced on Tuesday.
The approval reflects the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ commitment to “leveraging science and technology to support the national strategy in the South China Sea”, according to the SCSIO statement.
It said the planned station would “fill a key gap” in marine monitoring in the Zhongsha Islands, supplement the institute’s existing stations in the Paracel and Spratly islands – known as the Xisha and Nansha islands in Chinese – and complete China’s ecological observation network across the entire South China Sea.
The Zhongsha Islands, as China calls them, are a group of reefs and atolls in the central South China Sea. The area, partly associated with what is internationally known as Macclesfield Bank, includes Scarborough Shoal, a hotspot contested by Beijing and Manila.
Earlier this month, Beijing issued an administrative regulation on biodiversity and ecological protection near Scarborough Shoal, which is called Huangyan Island in China. Beijing designated the disputed atoll a “national nature reserve” last year.
The Zhongsha Islands feature distinctive geological formations, diverse coral reef ecosystems and dynamic oceanographic conditions influenced by currents and severe storms.
The new station will establish a three-dimensional, multilayered marine observation network of “sea-based dual-core and land-based logistics” and provide data on ocean conditions, ecology, geology and fishery resources, according to the institute.
The SCSIO said it was continuing to conduct scientific research and ecological monitoring in the Zhongsha Islands “to implement national priorities, complete national missions and support the sustainable development of the South China Sea”.


Beijing claims sovereignty over most islands and rock features in the South China Sea. Some of its claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.
In 2012, China took control of Scarborough Shoal, known as Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal in the Philippines.
China released its own baselines for the territorial sea around the shoal in 2024 and has intensified naval and coastguard patrols since then.
In recent months, China’s ecological protection initiatives in the South China Sea have been a growing source of friction with the Philippines and the United States, Manila’s treaty ally.
On August 1, China issued a regulation for managing the “national nature reserve” it declared at Scarborough Shoal last year. The rules ban illegal fishing and poaching, authorise enforcement against acts that damage the environment and establish regular patrols.
Washington on August 8 rejected China’s establishment of the nature reserve and accused it of denying Filipino fishermen “access to their traditional fishing ground”.
Last week, the US embassy in the Philippines launched a community reporting centre on the island of Palawan to collect reports from local fishermen about “suspected illegal fishing and unusual vessel activities” in the South China Sea and relay them to Philippine authorities.
The Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday it would “monitor the situation closely”.
“We do not object to normal cooperation between the US and the Philippines, but such cooperation should not be targeted at or harm the interests of any third party,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.


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China

Diplomacy

Beijing’s ecological initiatives around the South China Sea flashpoint have been a growing source of tension with Manila and Washington


Beijing’s ecological initiatives around the South China Sea flashpoint have been a growing source of tension with Manila and Washington.


China to build environmental monitoring station near disputed Scarborough Shoal

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Beijing’s ecological initiatives around the South China Sea flashpoint have been a growing source of tension with Manila and Washington

Beijing’s ecological initiatives around the South China Sea flashpoint have been a growing source of tension with Manila and Washington