China to Establish Nature Reserve at Scarborough Shoal

Chinese authorities announced Wednesday that they will set up a “national-level nature reserve” at Scarborough Shoal, a maritime feature in the South China Sea inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Illegal claims: China claims almost all of the South China Sea, despite international law clearly delineating much of it as the territory of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and other nations.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague ruled that China’s “sweeping claims” had no basis in international law. Yet Beijing spurns this verdict and does all it can to control the area, including the construction of this new reserve.

Valuable region: The South China Sea is home to vast mineral and aquatic resources. This area is also a channel for shipborne trade worth trillions of dollars each year.

Though branded as an environmental gesture, this is another instance of China flexing its military muscles, stepping into its biblically prophesied role.

Learn more: Read Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s article “China Is Steering the World Toward War.”