China's coast guard conducted patrols around the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Friday to safeguard China's territorial rights, state television CCTV reported.The China Coast Guard (CCG) has continued to strengthen law enforcement patrols in the territorial waters and surrounding areas of Scarborough Shoal since December.The Philippine Embassy in Beijing did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Scarborough Shoal, also called Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, is a triangular coral reef formation which surrounds a lagoon.It is famed for its rich waters and marine resources.The shoal is located 124 nautical miles off Masinloc, Zambales, and is considered within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).In 2016, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) deemed Scarborough Shoal a high-tide feature, meaning a number of its rocks remained exposed at high tide. Despite this, the tribunal found that the high-tide features at the shoal “are rocks that cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own” and therefore shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.China, which does not recognize the ruling, also claims sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoal, which it calls “Huangyan Dao” and treats it as part of the Zhongsha Islands.Earlier this month, China submitted to the United Nations (UN) a statement on the baselines of its territorial sea which included a chart showing the Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal as part of its territorial waters.The Philippine Mission to the United Nations, led by Ambassador Antonio Lagdameo, thereafter firmly asserted that Bajo de Masinloc is part of the country's territory despite China's claim
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