Scarborough Shoal: Manila Submits Claim to UN as China Escalates Gray-Zone Warfare

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The Philippines is stepping up its legal campaign in the South China Sea, formally submitting new maritime charts of Scarborough Shoal to the UN as tensions with China continue to escalate. Beijing has responded with joint People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and China Coast Guard drills around the disputed feature, while pressing ahead with new regulations governing a so-called “nature reserve.” The latest confrontation highlights a growing contest fought not only through ships and aircraft, but also through international law, domestic legislation and competing sovereignty claims. Could Scarborough Shoal become the next major flashpoint in the South China Sea — and what would that mean for the Philippines, Taiwan and the wider First Island Chain? In this episode, we examine Manila's legal strategy, China's gray-zone response and what the dispute reveals about the future of regional security in the Indo-Pacific. *Recorded on August 8, 2026 at 2pm Taiwan Standard Time Host: Wen-Ti Sung Producer: Chinyeh Chiang Videographer: Celest Kao Our guests: Alice Yang - Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) Assistant Research Fellow Lowell Bautista - Western Sydney University School of Law Associate Professor

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