China Conducts Patrols Near Scarborough Shoal as South Korea Reopens Tungsten Mine
China's military and coast guard carried out combat-readiness patrols around Scarborough Shoal on Tuesday, June 30, in what analysts describe as a calculated show of force triggered by joint US-Philippine exercises conducted near the contested atoll over the weekend.
China’s military and coast guard carried out combat-readiness patrols around Scarborough Shoal on Tuesday, June 30, in what analysts describe as a calculated show of force triggered by joint US-Philippine exercises conducted near the contested atoll over the weekend.
The PLA Southern Theatre Command announced that naval and air forces conducted patrols in the territorial waters and airspace around the shoal, which Beijing claims as Huangyan Dao. The China Coast Guard separately announced law-enforcement patrols, saying it had clamped down on ships engaged in illegal rights-violation activities. Both statements were issued in Chinese and English, an unusually synchronized public relations effort that underscored Beijing’s determination to project authority over the disputed waters.
China’s Calculated Show of Force
The timing of the patrols is widely seen as a direct response to a US-Philippine joint exercise that concluded near Scarborough on Saturday. US Indo-Pacific Command said the drills underscored a shared commitment to strengthening regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
China’s defense ministry struck a sharper tone on Monday, accusing the Philippines of bringing in countries outside the region for patrols and warning that such actions undermine regional peace and stability. China has intensified its sovereignty claims at Scarborough in recent years, including through the creation of a national nature reserve at the shoal, a move the Philippines denounced as a clear pretext for occupation.
South Korea’s Tungsten Gambit
On the same day that Chinese vessels were circling Scarborough Shoal, South Korea was celebrating a milestone of its own. The Sangdong Mine in Yeongwol Province, closed for 32 years under pressure from cheaper Chinese imports, formally reopened on Tuesday, positioning Seoul as a potential alternative supplier of tungsten for Western nations seeking to reduce their dependence on Beijing.
The mine, operated by Canada’s Almonty Industries under a 2015 acquisition agreement, holds an estimated 58 million tons of tungsten ore reserves. Officials project it could supply roughly 10 percent of global tungsten needs for the next 60 years once full production is reached. Tungsten is indispensable for semiconductors, medical equipment, and weapons systems.
We knew the world’s reliance on Chinese products would eventually become an unacceptable geopolitical and industrial risk, said Benjamin Byun, assistant mine superintendent at Almonty Korea Tungsten. China currently accounts for roughly 80 percent of global tungsten production, and Beijing’s export restrictions have sent prices soaring.
South Korea’s trade minister, Ahn Duk-geun, said Seoul’s goal was to build a stable supply chain among democracies. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has already opened negotiations for a long-term tungsten supply agreement with Seoul, according to officials briefed on the talks.
Regarding resource development, Japan possesses considerable technology, said Seo Seok-jun, principal researcher at Korea’s National Institute of Rare Metals. So from the perspective of decoupling from China, it would be good to create an environment where South Korea and Japan could jointly develop methods to secure resources.
Regional Alliances Converge
The developments at Scarborough Shoal and the Korean tungsten trail converge against a backdrop of rapid strategic realignment across the Indo-Pacific. Australia and Vanuatu signed a landmark security pact on Tuesday, the Nakamal Agreement, explicitly barring foreign military bases from Vanuatu’s territory, a provision widely seen as aimed at China. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it the most significant security agreement between Australia and a Pacific island nation in decades.
In Tokyo, the Philippines and Japan are finalizing talks on the transfer of a Japanese destroyer and a surveillance aircraft to Manila, as well as a reciprocal access agreement that would allow their forces to deploy on each other’s soil. The Philippines completed its first joint maritime patrol with Japan in March, and Manila is now pursuing trilateral drills with the United States and Australia.
Taiwan’s air force has been conducting round-the-clock fighter patrols of its Air Defense Identification Zone since China’s Shandong carrier group entered the Taiwan Strait last week. The US Navy sent a carrier group through the waterway on Thursday in a move that analysts said was designed to signal American support for Taipei.
