Beijing's greenwashing of the South China Sea

 

 Beijing's greenwashing of the South China Sea



For several years, Chinese coast guard ships have been threatening Philippine vessels in disputed waters of the South China Sea, including Scarborough Shoal. But an announcement earlier this month showed a different tactic -- Beijing announced it would establish a national nature reserve in the area at a reef well within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

The move shows again how China has been undeterred by a 2016 international tribunal ruling that found its sweeping maritime claims unlawful, continuing to tighten its grip over one of the water's most volatile flashpoints. In an op-ed this week, James Borton argues that this amounts to Beijing's greenwashing of the South China Sea.

"Turning Scarborough into a 'national nature reserve' allows Beijing to further institutionalize its presence. Even if no concrete facilities are built, the act of naming, mapping and administratively managing the shoal is a quiet but potent way of entrenching sovereignty," Borton writes.

"For China, the green camouflage offers international cover and domestic legitimacy. For the Philippines and other claimants, it presents a thorny challenge: how to contest sovereignty claims that come not with gunboats, but with promises of coral conservation."