China Issues Management Rules for Huangyan Island Reserve

China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, China Coast Guard, and Hainan Provincial Government jointly issued the Management Measures for the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve on August 1, according to Xinhua. The 16-article regulation establishes management mechanisms, conservation measures, and legal liability for the reserve protecting the coral reef ecosystem around Huangyan Island, known internationally as Scarborough Shoal. The measure was issued one day after China’s Foreign Ministry rejected the Philippines’ announcement of territorial sea baselines around the island.

Context

China’s State Council approved the creation of the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve in September 2025, describing it as a safeguard for the diversity, stability, and sustainability of the island’s natural ecosystem. The reserve covers 3,523.67 hectares, with a core zone of 1,242.55 hectares, and its primary conservation target is the coral reef ecosystem, according to People’s Daily Online.

Huangyan Island sits in the Zhongsha Islands in the South China Sea and is administered by Sansha, a city in Hainan Province. The waters host a distinctive coral reef ecosystem and rare species including hawksbill turtles, green sea turtles, and giant clams. A field survey conducted from May to June 2024, which underpinned an ecological assessment report published the following month, found that the reef had thrived despite a global coral bleaching crisis, with rising live coral coverage and strong species diversity.

The island is also at the center of a long-running territorial dispute. China says its sovereignty is grounded in historical records and a series of international treaties it cites as defining Philippine territory. The Philippines maintains its own claim and rejected the reserve’s establishment when it was announced in September 2025.

Key Developments

Under the new measures, the Ministry of Natural Resources is responsible for organizing boundary delimitation, reviewing planning proposals, managing resource protection and utilization, and safeguarding territorial sea base points. The National Forestry and Grassland Administration will supervise reserve management and review adjustments, planning, and construction. The South China Sea Bureau of the Ministry of Natural Resources will act as the designated management body responsible for daily protection, resource surveys and monitoring, and ecological restoration, while the four issuing bodies will establish a coordination mechanism for major issues, work coordination, and information sharing, The Paper/CCTV reported.

The reserve will be under strict protection: without approval, fishing, mining, and the harvesting of coral, coral reefs, and giant clams are prohibited, along with other activities that could damage rare marine species and the natural ecosystem. Violators will be held legally accountable, state media said.

The issuance follows a pattern of administrative steps Beijing has taken on and around the island. China announced territorial sea baselines around Huangyan Island in November 2024, approved the national nature reserve in September 2025, and has conducted regular coast guard patrols in nearby waters.

Territorial Backdrop

The new rules come amid renewed friction between Beijing and Manila. On July 31, 2026, the Philippines announced what it described as territorial sea baselines around Huangyan Island. China’s Foreign Ministry responded the same day, saying the move “seriously infringes China’s territorial sovereignty” and violates international law, declaring it “illegal and invalid,” as reported by The Paper.

Philippine officials previously protested the reserve’s creation in September 2025, calling it illegal. Chinese state media defended the move, framing the protected area as part of China’s ecological civilization agenda. The Philippine government’s reaction to the August 2026 management measures had not been reported at the time of writing.

Analysis

The management measures serve twin purposes: they institutionalize environmental protection of a scientifically significant reef, and they consolidate Chinese administrative control over a feature whose sovereignty Manila contests. The timing — one day after the Philippine baselines announcement — underscores that the two goals are intertwined.

In a commentary published through the Institute for China-America Studies and originally carried by China Daily, analyst Yinan Bao described the reserve as “a milestone in ocean governance,” arguing that it demonstrates China’s transition from a large maritime nation to a strong maritime power — a transition based on institutionalizing ocean governance and providing regional public goods. While the commentary reflects a Chinese perspective, it highlights how Beijing intends the reserve to be read internationally: as an act of lawful administration and environmental stewardship rather than escalation.

China has cited its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to protect the marine environment, and Chinese officials have noted that several major maritime nations maintain marine protected areas. The 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling, which treated Scarborough Shoal as a rock incapable of generating an exclusive economic zone, was rejected by China as illegal and non-binding.

What’s Next

Implementation of the management measures will hinge on the capacity of the South China Sea Bureau and the China Coast Guard to monitor a remote reef environment. The reserve’s zoning — with a smaller core zone and a larger experimental zone — allows for controlled scientific research and conservation work, potentially offering a platform for regional cooperation on marine monitoring if tensions ease.

The immediate watch points are Manila’s response to the new measures and whether the pattern of administrative steps around Huangyan Island continues. With both sides holding entrenched legal positions and the South China Sea dispute unresolved, environmental governance and sovereignty claims are likely to remain closely intertwined.