Scarborough Shoal a looming flashpoint in South China Sea

SCARBOROUGH SHOAL, South China Sea–In the predawn darkness, four lights flicker on the horizon.

“Four Chinese ships,” says one of the Filipino fishermen ominously.

We are 200 kilometers or so west of Infanta, a fishing village in the northern Philippines, from which we departed 19 hours earlier, and close to disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

As the sun rises Dec. 13, rocks poke through the sea surface. This rich fishing ground is at the front line of a territorial row that pits China against the Philippines and Taiwan.

The shoal may be nothing more than a pile of rocks and coral reefs, but it is of immense strategic interest to China, which seems intent on reclaiming it to construct a military stronghold. It has done the same with seven other artificial islands in the South China Sea.

Two Chinese vessels are painted white and have the words “China Coast Guard” emblazoned in capital letters on their sides. The other two ships are painted blue, denoting Chinese patrol boats, according to the Filipino fishermen.

Our 10-meter-long boat is dwarfed in size by the Chinese ships.

We navigate inside the doughnut-shaped Scarborough Shoal, but the Chinese vessels stay where they are.

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