evidence: Scarborough Shoal lies about 120 nautical miles from the main Philippine island of Luzon and 185 nautical miles from Manila. It is situated in an otherwise empty area of the South China Sea more than 250 nautical miles from each of the region’s two disputed island groups, the Paracels to the northwest and the Spratlys to the southwest. Were China to undertake reclamation at Scarborough, it would allow the Chinese military to maintain a presence throughout the South China Sea and even extend its reach over parts of the Philippine home islands. That would have enormous strategic implications for both the Philippines and the United States, which just negotiated U.S. access to five Philippine bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. [...] The final and most difficult step to blocking Chinese reclamation at Scarborough Shoal will be having Philippine assets prepared to intervene at short notice. Despite the severe gaps in its naval and coast guard capabilities, the Philippines, not the United States, must take the lead in confronting Chinese activities at Scarborough. The shoal includes several rocks that entitle it to a territorial sea. Sending a U.S. naval vessel into the territorial sea of a disputed feature in the absence of any use of force by China would violate (or at least seriously muddy) the very international laws and norms that the United States is looking to uphold. Even if successful in blocking Chinese reclamation, such a U.S. operation would be a Pyrrhic victory.