US slams Chinese actions in South China Sea

WASHINGTON, United States—The United States on Saturday accused China of “destabilizing” activity near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, saying it is using “dubious” environmental explanations to advance its territorial claims.

Scarborough Shoal is a fish-rich reef formation 240 kilometers (124 miles) from the main Philippine island of Luzon and hundreds of kilometers away from mainland China. Both Beijing and Manila claim the flashpoint coral atoll.

“The United States rejects China’s ongoing attempts to enforce its destabilizing ‘national nature reserve’ at Scarborough Reef and deny Filipino fishermen access to their traditional fishing ground,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

“This is yet another unilateral attempt by China to use dubious environmental and legal pretexts, backed by coercion, to advance its sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea at the expense of its neighbors,” Pigott said in a statement.

China recently published new rules on the management of the nature reserve it unilaterally created last year around the shoal, which is controlled by Beijing.

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, including the flashpoint shoal, despite an international ruling that its assertion lacks any legal basis.

China and the Philippines regularly clash over disputed territories. The most recent incidents took place last month. /apl