China says intercepted Philippine ships at disputed South China Sea shoal

China’s coast guard mentioned Tuesday (September 16, 2025) it had “taken control measures” towards a number of Philippine vessels on the disputed Scarborough Shoal within the South China Sea, as Beijing strikes to strengthen its territorial claims and maritime rights within the contested area.

The Philippines and China have been engaged in a long-running maritime standoff within the strategic waterway that has included common clashes between coast guard ships and big naval workout routines.

China authorized plans to show Scarborough Shoal — which Beijing calls Huangyan Island and which is understood within the Philippines because the Panatag Shoal — right into a nationwide nature reserve final week, with out saying its particular boundaries.

Analysts mentioned the transfer amounted to China attempting to take the ethical excessive floor within the dispute between Beijing and Manila over the atoll, a part of a wider contest over sovereignty and fishing entry within the South China Sea, a conduit for greater than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.

The Philippines embassy in Beijing didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

“On September 16, the China Coast Guard took control measures against a number of Philippine officials vessels operating illegally in the territorial waters of the Scarborough Shoal in accordance with the law,” the coast guard mentioned on its official WeChat, a social media platform.

China claims nearly the complete South China Sea, overlapping the unique financial zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Unresolved disputes have festered for years over possession of assorted islands and options.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration within the Hague dominated that China’s sweeping claims within the area weren’t supported by worldwide legislation, a choice that Beijing rejects.