U.S Warns China Not to Build Base in Scarborough

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza, MPA

DON'T you know that in March 2016, former U.S. President Barack Obama directly warned Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Washington not to reclaim land or build a military outpost at Scarborough Shoal, treating it as a critical red line to prevent a strategic Chinese base close to the Philippines?

The Chinese have huge military outposts in the Spratly Islands and The Paracels all in the South China Sea.

Masinloc Mayor

Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc is part of the town of Masinloc Zambales Province. It lies 124 nautical miles west of the Zambales coast inside the country's exclusive economic zone.

The presence of Mainland Chinese in Scarborough Shoal was not only the problem of the fisher folk of Masinloc but the people of the Philippines,’ declared to this writer in 2015 by Masinloc Mayor Desiree Edora.

She said those fishermen chased by the motor boats of the Chinese Navy were not only from Masinloc but fishermen from Sual, Bolinao, and other towns of Pangasinan.

The mayor said the aqua - product rich Bajo de Masinloc where the Chinese Navy and Coast Guard have strong presence is 15 to 18 hours ride in a small boat in fair weather from her town.

Edora said the stand-off with the Chinese, who traveled 467 miles from Mainland China, started in 2012.

The Meeting

President Obama admonished President Xi Jinping during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. He warned of "serious consequences" if China proceeded with dredging, land reclamation, or establishing an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) at the shoal.

The Outcome

U.S. officials and regional analysts noted that Chinese dredgers and ships approaching the area subsequently turned back or withdrew following the intervention, averting an immediate artificial island construction project similar to those built in the Spratly Islands.