By Adolfo Quizon Paglinawan

 

Part 9: A Nation with Many Strange Voices

China’s State Council has approved on September 10, 2025, a proposal by its Ministry of Natural Resources to establish Huangyan Dao National Nature Reserve.

According to the approval document, the nature reserve is an important guarantee for maintaining the diversity, stability and sustainability of the Huangyan Dao’s ecosystem.

On the same day, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration released details on the reserve’s size, boundaries and zoning.

Note the points coordinates 1 to 41 in the planned development in the map provided above distinguishing a core zone of 1,242.55 hectares from an experimental zone of 2,281.12 hectares, with coral reef ecosystems listed as the main protection target.

The Huangyan Dao national nature reserve would be located in Sansha City, South China’s Hainan Province, covering 3,523.67 hectares.

Science-based decision making

According to Ding Duo, director of the Research Center for International and Regional Studies at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, this reflects China’s law-based and standardized approach to marine governance.

“By taking practical actions based on scientific protection and law-based management, China has effectively countered false narratives and enhanced its voice in international discussions on marine environment protection,” Ding added.

The Investigation and Assessment Report on Marine Ecology and Environment Status of Huangyan Dao, which was jointly released by multiple institutions under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Guangxi University in 2024, says China’s Huangyan Dao area now enjoys excellent environmental quality and a healthy coral reef ecosystem.

At the waters off the Huangyan Dao, investigation has found that both seawater and sediment were rated Grade I, pollutant levels in fish samples were below limits, and no cyanide was detected. The investigation recorded 109 species of hard corals from 34 genera and 12 families – the highest diversity ever documented in the region, which makes its conservation highly valuable.

Ding stressed that the establishment of the reserve was based on solid scientific research and environmental surveys, representing an important expansion of China’s marine protection network in the South China Sea.

Yang Xiao, deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Strategy Studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations highlighted that the Huangyan Dao nature reserve serves as a model for ecological environment protection and pollution management in the entire South China Sea, as well as for scientific research..

“It not only sets a precedent for the country’s future activities but also serves as a guiding example for neighboring countries and regions in the South China Sea, to jointly maintain the ecological environment and protect species resources,” he noted.

Over the past 10 years, the environment at the Huangyan Dao has been greatly improved, Yang said, noting that further protection measures, including the establishment of the nature reserve, would prevent destructive fishing activities that harm coral reefs and ensure the long-term sustainability of the marine ecosystem:

“The move, a continuation of China’s long-standing commitment to marine ecological environment protection, is consolidating past achievements and providing a constructive model for the future.”

AI algorithm malfunctions

For research in this report, I sought the assistance of artificial intelligence. I was flabbergasted with the results. When asked, if the establishment of this nature reserve was in accordance with international law, I got a din of adverse responses. So, I went into the nitty-gritty of scrutinizing every AI output.

First, AI considered it unlawful under UNCLOS  and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award. It said “These international laws hold that the shoal is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, the nine-dash line is invalid, and China cannot restrict traditional fishing.”

This is ridiculous because UNCLOS only deals with maritime issues. The reserve will be situated in land clarified by the Arbitration as a rock, and its territorial sea has been under the sovereignty of China (not the Philippines) for more than a decade, and not part of any EEZ to EEZ contest.

That a nature reserve restricts traditional fishing also distorts the mandate of Paragraph 809 of the Award: ”The Tribunal notes, however, that traditional fishing rights are not absolute or impervious to regulation. Indeed, the careful regulation of traditional fishing may be necessary for conservation and to restrict environmentally harmful practices. Customary international law, in this respect, does not restrict the coastal State from reasonable regulation.”

The coastal state “in effective control” referred to here is China.

AI continues to fail – “The Philippines has sovereignty and jurisdiction over the area, because it is part of its Exclusive Economic Zone.

“Scarborough Shoal is located ~124 nautical miles from the Philippines, placing it firmly within its 200-nautical-mile EEZ, which grants the Philippines sovereign rights to resources and environmental protection.”

This fallacy is an overread of UNCLOS. The Philippine claim to EEZs may indicate “sovereign rights”. But as defined by its Articles 55 to 57, sovereign rights encompass the exploration, exploitation, conservation, and management of natural resources, both living and non-living, in the water, seabed, and subsoil, not sovereignty or ownership.

Thus, AI has pursued the wrong algorithm: Even granting the existence of sovereign rights, it is arguendo an inferior claim to China’s sovereignty in Scarborough; it cannot protrude ‘ownership’ of the land feature and its territorial sea. To suggest so, is to deny China’s possession of the feature and its entitlement according to the Arbitral Award of 12 nm of territorial sea.

Second, sovereign rights west of the Philippines is unenforceable because there are three other claimant parties. It has yet to be resolved.

The mention of the nine-dash line is absolutely irrelevant.

AI’s algorithm continues to falter. It also says the 2016 Arbitral Award is a “legally binding ruling that declared that China’s historic rights over the area have ‘no legal basis’.”

The Award did not say China’s historic rights have no legal basis. In fact, in Paragraph 272, it said “In particular, the Tribunal emphasizes that nothing in this Award should be understood to comment in any way on China’s historic claim to the islands of the South China Sea.”

AI was referring to the nine-dash line, which has never been part of China’s (but Taiwan’s) claims to the South China Seas.

Further AI malfunction indicates “The Philippines argues that it alone has the authority to declare environmental protection areas over its own maritime zones.” Again, the Philippines has no maritime zone at Scarborough Shoal. It is China that has a 12 nm territorial sea around it.

Can AI replace human?

I caught the machine lawyering against China. So, why has technology failed miserably in this study? The answer is ‘GIGO’, which in infotech means ‘garbage in, garbage out’.

I found out that almost 90% of the inputs came from Reuters, a British news agency; Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a known Capitol Hill lobbyist for the Deep State; Institute for China-American Studies (ICAS), headquartered in Washington DC; Think Asia, an eMagazine by flagship Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao owned by the Singapore Press Holdings; Indo-Pacific Defense Forum sponsored by the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM); Associated Press, a US news agency based in New York; Forbes, headquartered in Jersey City USA; USNI News of the US Naval Institute; The Guardian of the United Kingdom; Japan Times; South China Morning Post, a Hongkong based British-owned newspaper; Baird Maritime in Melbourne, Australia, ad infinitum.

With most data coming from such Western sources, you are bound to get white-man’s stupid answers. AI operates based on data, pattern recognition, and algorithms, not genuine comprehension or intuition.

This suggests that while AI excels at processing large datasets and automating, it serves at best as a complementary tool that enhances human potential. The future involves collaborative ‘augmented intelligence’ rather than complete replacement. 

AI cannot entirely replace human intelligence because it lacks consciousness, emotional intelligence (EQ), true creativity, and nuanced contextual understanding, which are essential for human interaction and decision-making.

AI can generate variations of existing ideas, but it lacks the capacity for true innovation and understanding the profound, new concepts that define human advancement. To top it all, AI cannot independently make complex ethical, moral, or value-based decisions. 

Bias-run objections

Deeper analysis points to fear factor and overthinking of conspiracy theories, as the root of objections.

The Philippines and international partners strongly object to China’s “Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve” at Scarborough Shoal, viewing it as an illegal, unilateral attempt to cement de facto control over Philippine territory.

The United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and the European Union have raised concerns, calling the move “destabilizing” and a challenge to international law. They criticize the move as a pretext for occupation, similar to previous artificial island constructions.

While it may be argued that the China’s nature reserve is a possibility in defending its territorial sovereignty over Scarborough, it is uncouth and massively disproportionate to block scientific advancement for the good of mankind, because of geopolitics.

China is observing due process following its announcement of the baselines and base points of the territorial sea adjacent to Huangyan Dao to the United Nations secretary-general, the Division of Ocean Affairs of the Law of the Sea and International Hydrographic Organization last December 2024.

Blocking a nature reserve project of China in land (or more definitively ‘rock’) it has had effective control for over a decade, is meddling in China’s internal affairs. And awkwardly at that, because the first beneficiaries of this project are the traditional fishermen in the area whose interests the 2016 Arbitral Award stood for, significantly Filipinos who now ply more than 120 nautical miles westward for a good catch because they have for the past decade wasted their own municipal waters and near seas for lack of conservation practices.

China has both the right under customary international law and the responsibility under UNCLOS and the Convention on Biological Diversity,” to protect the marine environment there,  advance ecological civilization, and deepen cooperation and governance on ecological protection in the South China Sea.

The opposition therefore that the establishment of the nature serve “contradicts the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration of Conduct that admonishes claimant states to avoid escalating tensions and practice self-restraint,” becomes more preposterous, given the development of other claimant states in area they control.

What difference Pagasa?

Since 1971, the Philippines’ presence in Pagasa (Thitu) since 1971 has also been de facto. But as recent as ten years ago, the Philippine government has undertaken significant infrastructure and logistical improvements to strengthen its sovereignty claims to the “rock”, transforming the remote outpost into a more functional, semi-permanent community and defense base. 

Pagasa’s Rancudo Airfield has undergone major repairs and expansion, including concreting, to accommodate larger military cargo aircraft and potentially patrol aircraft. The runway, which was previously unpaved and eroded, has been extended and improved, with further upgrades aimed at strengthening it for faster, safer landings.

A crucial beaching ramp was constructed to facilitate the delivery of construction materials and supplies. This was followed by the construction of a sheltered port and harbor, completed around May 2020, allowing for larger vessels, including Philippine Navy and Coast Guard ships, to dock safely.

New military and defense facilities have been added, including a hangar for aircraft, additional barracks for personnel, and a new, advanced three-story Philippine Coast Guard station equipped with surveillance technology like radar, satellite communication, and vessel traffic management.

To support the civilian population (which has grown to around 77 families or roughly 400 people, including troops and officials), the government has added civilian infrastructure, including a 5-bed lying-in clinic, a new school building, a church, and a communication tower.

A diesel power plant has been installed to improve electricity supply, with plans to introduce better water desalination, and waste management systems.

The Marcos administration has continued to prioritize the island, allocating billions of pesos in the 2025 budget for further expansion of the airstrip, and new, additional sheltered ports to support both civilian livelihoods (fishing) and defense capabilities.

These improvements have allowed the Philippines to maintain a consistent, year-round presence on the island despite the proximity of a major Chinese base on Subi Reef. 

Vietnam

Accelerating dramatically since 2021, Vietnam shifted from simple, small-scale landfill to using industrial-grade cutter suction dredgers, creating over 930 hectares (approx. 2,300 acres) of new land in 21 features it occupies occurring in 10 of them by late 2025.

Military upgrades have turned outposts into ‘unsinkable aircraft carriers’, incorporating munitions depots. New facilities include reinforced coastal defense, harbors designed for larger ships, solar panels environmental protection measures like vegetation to prevent erosion.

We have included only four out of ten illustrations below:

• Barque-Canada Reef: Transformed into a major, heavily fortified outpost with over 2.8 km² of reclaimed land and a 4,300-meter airstrip capable of handling larger aircraft.

• Spratly or Storm Island: Truong Sa Dong, acting as a major Vietnamese administrative hub in the Spratlys, has gained over 600 acres of new reclamation since 2021. Key improvements include extending the airstrip to over 1,200 meters, constructing a deep-water harbor, and adding military, administrative, and surveillance facilities.

• Pearson Reef: Starting around 2022, Vietnam utilized cutter-suction dredgers to deepen harbors and expand land, with work continuing into 2024 to create new land around existing, older structures. Upgrades include the addition of radomes for advanced sensing or communications, new administrative buildings, and a helipad.

• Tennent Reef: By the end of 2023, the artificial island created on the western side of the reef had grown to approximately 25 hectares, measuring about 1 km in length and 290 m in width.

Malaysia

Since 2016, Malaysia’s improvements on its claimed features in the Spratly Islands have focused on reinforcing existing positions, with notable, albeit relatively small-scale, land reclamation and facility upgrade on key reefs to maintain ‘effective occupation’.

Unlike the massive land reclamation and militarization campaigns undertaken by China and Vietnam, Malaysia’s approach has been more subtle, primarily aimed at supporting its, tourism, and military personnel, rather than building major airbases, particularly in:

• Swallow Reef (Layang-Layang): As the centerpiece of Malaysia’s Spratly claims, this feature has been developed into an island hosting a 1.5-kilometer runway and a dive resort. Further enhancements have been made to the facilities to sustain tourism and maintain the runway’s operational capacity, cementing it as a permanent, manned feature.

While Malaysia did not match the massive dredging of other claimants, they did conduct small but significant land reclamation on at least one, and likely more, of their occupied features to improve infrastructure and defensive capabilities.

It has also utilized its occupied features (including Ardasier Reef, Mariveles Reef, Erica Reef, and Investigator Shoal) to base military garrisons and support ongoing submarine and surface patrols by the Royal Malaysian Navy and Maritime Enforcement Agency.

Significantly, Malaysia has maintained and upgraded its oil and gas exploration infrastructure in the waters surrounding its claimed Spratly features, particularly in the vicinity of the Luconia Reefs, which are considered crucial for its economic security. 

Conclusion

Neither Malaysia or Vietnam, two of the three coastal states that disputes the expansive EEZ claims of the Philippines, did not protest the establishment of a nature reserve at Huangyan Dao or Scarborough Shoal.

As earlier mentioned, the Philippines had to import an echo chamber from outside the region.

Only Taiwan, a claimant party but not a state, which Japan ruled for fifty years from 1895 to 1945, and a candidate fiefdom of the United States, joined the noise. and for the preposterous reasons that the reserve is a ‘unilateral, illegal, and hegemonic move’, asserting its own sovereignty over the islands and waters, while arguing the action disrupts regional peace, stability, and maritime rights.

Regardless of the decibels involving South China Sea disputes between China and the Philippines, and the internal issues involving Taiwan reunification, the Peoples Republic of China must proceed posthaste for the completion of the nature reserve at Huanyan Dao.

I am 78 years old, and I wish to see this in my lifetime.

For the good of incoming generations and its vision of shared humanity.

Next: Carpio’s War, Improvised Legal Theories, Unenforceable Sea

   

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