The Philippines protested on Thursday against a Chinese scheme to create a "nature reserve" on the disputed Scarborough Shoal, the site of repeated clashes in the South China Sea.

China revealed plans a day earlier for a reserve to maintain "diversity, stability, and sustainability of the natural ecosystem of Huangyan Island", Beijing's name for the contested chain of reefs.

Chinese state media said the reserve would cover an area of 3,523.67 hectares (8,707 acres), with its "primary focus" being the coral reef ecosystem.

"The Philippines strongly protests the recent approval by the State Council of China of the establishment of the so-called 'Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve,'" the foreign affairs department said in a statement.

"The Philippines will be issuing a formal diploma

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