China Releases Ecological Reports to Solidify Spratly Islands Claims
China's Ministry of Natural Resources published two marine ecological bulletins covering nine disputed features in the South China Sea, including Second Thomas Shoal and Sandy Cay. The reports characterize Chinese-administered areas as healthy "gene banks" while blaming environmental degradation at other reefs on Philippine construction and waste. The U.S. State Department rejected the reports, viewing the establishment of "nature reserves" as a legal maneuver to bypass the 2016 Arbitral Award.