Chinese South China Sea expert Wu Shicun says Beijing will not rule out building fixed facilities at Scarborough Shoal if external forces leave it no choice.
Wu Shicun is founding president of China’s National Institute for South China Sea Studies and chairman of the Huayang Centre for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance. He made the remarks in an interview with the South China Morning Post.
Wu said Manila’s “assertive transparency” initiative documents and publicises confrontations involving Chinese blockades and water cannons to create a global perception that China is the bully.
He added that since 2023 the Philippines has deliberately intruded into waters around Renai Jiao to provoke intercepts and secure more coastguard funding from its Congress.
