Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal):
China announced the creation of a national nature reserve on Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) in the South China Sea. Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal). It is disputed coral atoll in the South China Sea, also called Scarborough Shoal (English), Huangyan Island (China), and Panatag Shoal (Philippines).Located about 220 km west of Luzon (Philippines) and near the Manila Trench. First appeared on the 1734 Velarde Map of the Philippines, claimed under Spanish rule and later the Treaty of Washington (1900). Named “Scarborough” after the British ship that grounded there in 1748. Subject of the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff between China and the Philippines. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) under UNCLOS invalidated China’s “nine-dash line” claims but did not rule on sovereignty.
