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China approves marine monitoring station near Scarborough Shoal
The marine environmental observation project was approved July 31 and is set to monitor an area that includes Scarborough Shoal, a longstanding flashpoint with the Philippines.
China has approved the construction of a marine environmental observation station in the central South China Sea, covering an area that includes Scarborough Shoal, a hotspot disputed with the Philippines. The project is the Zhongsha Islands Marine Ecological and Environmental Field Observation and Research Station, proposed by the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, according to SCMP Economy.
SCMP Economy reports the green light was issued on July 31, as the Chinese Academy of Sciences said the approval reflects its commitment to using science and technology to support its national strategy in the South China Sea. The institute described the station as part of a marine monitoring effort tied to the Zhongsha Islands, which it says are reefs and atolls in the central South China Sea.
The planned monitoring area also partly overlaps with what is internationally known as Macclesfield Bank, SCMP Economy adds. Scarborough Shoal remains a persistent flashpoint between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea.