South China Sea: Beijing's nature reserve move seen as bid for moral high ground

Some experts say it is using environmental protection to justify territorial claims

- Lim Min Zhang China Correspondent

China's unusual move to designate the disputed Scarborough Shoal as a nature reserve underscores how Beijing is increasingly using environmental protection to justify its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The move gives China a platform to project itself as a responsible steward of the waters and showcases its environmental credentials amid growing claims that it is causing ecological damage, said analysts.

But the designation could further raise tensions over the shoal.

Dr Ding Duo, director of the Centre for International and Regional Studies at the Hainan-based National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said some countries have spread false information, alleging that China is "destroying the South China Sea marine environment".

For example, the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies said in January that China has caused damage to thousands of acres of coral reef in the South China Sea since 2013, through dredging and landfilling activities.

Dr Ding said the establishment of the nature reserve allows the international community to "view China's South China Sea policy more objectively and rationally", adding that it also enables China to showcase its "advanced marine environmental protection concepts".

When the conditions and timing are ripe, Chinese and foreign scientists, and even intergovernmental and international organisations, could participate in international cooperation such as joint scientific research, he told The Straits Times.

On Sept 10, China's State Council, or Cabinet, announced the approval of Huangyan Dao as a national-level nature reserve.

That is China's name for the contested shoal, which Beijing has controlled de facto since 2012.

The shoal has been the site of increasing China-Philippines clashes in recent years.