Reefs that just two years ago were vibrant, teeming with colorful fish and seaweed have been turned into a desert of crushed coral in the South China Sea, and the Philippines says it has identified a culprit – the shadowy Chinese maritime militia.
China rejected the accusation, creating another public disagreement with its neighbor over the critical waterway.
Videos released Monday by the Philippine Coast Guard showed a vast patch of bleached coral along Rozul Reef (Iroquios) and Sabina Shoal (Escoda) in the South China Sea, which are underwater features within of the country’s internationally recognized exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Both reefs are near Palawan, the southwestern Philippine island chain facing the South China Sea, but Beijing claims most of the large, strategic waterway as its own territory despite competing claims from neighbors and in defiance of an international decision.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, a coast guard spokesman, said divers conducted “underwater surveys” of the seafloor and described “visible discoloration” that indicated “deliberate activities” intended to modify the land’s natural topography.
“The continued clustering of indiscriminate, illegal and destructive fishing activities by the Chinese Maritime Militia in Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal may have directly caused the degradation and destruction of the marine environment in the characteristic [do Mar das Filipinas Ocidental],” Tarriela said in a statement, referring to the name given by Manila to parts of the South China Sea under its jurisdiction.
Tarriela said that between August 9 and September 11, the coast guard monitored 33 Chinese vessels in the vicinity of Rozul Reef and about 15 Chinese vessels near the Escoda Shoal.
“The presence of crushed corals strongly suggests a potential act of dumping, possibly involving the same dead corals that were previously processed and cleaned before being returned to the seabed,” Tarriela added.
The Philippine military last Saturday also accused China’s maritime militia of massive destruction in the area.
Chinese authorities did not publicly comment on the accusations until Thursday (21), when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was questioned in a regular press meeting about the destruction of the corals.
“The relevant allegations from the Philippine side are false and baseless,” spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters. “We advise Philippine authorities not to use fabricated information to stage a political farce.”
Beijing claims “indisputable sovereignty” over nearly all of the 1.3 million square miles of the South China Sea, as well as most of the islands and shoals within it, including many features that are hundreds of miles away from the mainland of China. This includes the Spratlys, an archipelago made up of 100 small islands and reefs also claimed in whole or in part by the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
Over the past two decades, China has occupied numerous reefs and atolls throughout the South China Sea, building military installations, including airstrips and ports, that have not only challenged the Philippines’ sovereignty and fishing rights, but also endangered the Philippines. marine biodiversity in the highly contested and resource-rich waterway.
Some of the atolls and islands where construction took place have seen sustained land reclamation occur, often with reefs being destroyed first and then built on.
In 2016, an international court in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in a historic maritime dispute, which concluded that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights over most of the South China Sea. But Beijing ignored the decision and continues to expand its presence in the waterway.
“A warning”
Recent Philippine Coast Guard images of broken and bleached coral contrast sharply with those from just two years ago.
The University of the Philippines Institute of Marine Sciences told CNN who surveyed a portion of Rozul Reef (Iroquios) in 2021 through an expedition funded by the country’s National Security Council aboard the M/Y Panata.
Videos and photos taken by the institute in 2021 showed Rozul Reef (Iroquios) dotted with red and purple corals with aquatic algae and moss lining the reef.
“At that time, we discovered that the researched area had a reef ecosystem, with corals, benthic animals, fish, seaweed and other marine organisms,” he stated, but did not comment on the current state of the reef, because the latest information from the army and the Philippine Coast Guard were “outside the reach” of the institute.
“That said, we are open to working with other agencies to validate and analyze the impacts of recent activities in the area. Situations like this emphasize the need for continued monitoring and support for more marine scientific research activities by Filipino scientists, especially in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.
Signs of marine degradation have highlighted the threats of coral harvesting in the territory, leading several Philippine senators to raise suspicions about whether China has plans to militarize the atolls through the claim.
“It’s a wake-up call,” said Gerry Arances, executive director of the Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED).
The images exposed the marine impacts of China’s construction of island facilities in the waters, frequent patrols by militia ships and expanding commercial fishing, Arances said.
“This reveals many weaknesses, in terms of monitoring, regulation and general protection of marine biodiversity,” he said.
Western maritime security experts, along with officials from the Philippines and the United States, have increasingly accused Beijing of using apparently civilian fishing vessels as a maritime militia that acts as an unofficial – and officially deniable – force that China uses to advance its territorial claims in the South China Sea and beyond.
Nicknamed Beijing’s “little blue men,” Chinese fishing vessels have also been involved in clashes with Indonesian and Vietnamese fishing vessels in contested waters. Last month, the Philippines said a clash between Chinese and Philippine coast guard ships included at least two blue-hulled ships that looked like fishing vessels.
“There has been a collective failure at the international level in responding to China’s actions in the South China Sea, with regard to the militarization of the reefs and shoals where China, over a period of time, has taken pristine marine features and turned them into concrete military bases and the collective response from many of the environmental advocacy groups was muted,” said Ray Powell, director of SeaLight at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation.
The Philippines’ growing calls for transparency in China’s maneuvers in the disputed waters have allowed the country to gain international support from its allies to assert its territorial sovereignty, Powell added.
At least two foreign ambassadors in Manila have expressed alarm over reports of destruction of marine resources in the South China Sea.
US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson described reports of coral destruction around the reefs as “concerning,” according to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Habitat damage harms ecosystems and negatively impacts lives and livelihoods. We are working with our #FriendsPartnersAllies to protect natural resources [das Filipinas]”, she said.
Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa also described the development as “very alarming news” as he urged everyone to protect “these vital ecosystems”.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the country “has consistently raised the alarm about ecologically harmful activities conducted by foreign ships” in its maritime zones.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte sought to strengthen ties with Beijing and made plans to cooperate on oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea, a move that divided Filipinos over the legitimacy of allowing China’s ambitions in the disputed territory.
According to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, the Philippines occupies nine areas of the Spratly chain, while China occupies seven. But Beijing, which calls the island chain the Nansha Islands, has built and fortified many of its claims on the chain, including building military bases in places such as Subi Reef, Johnson Reef, Mischief Reef and Fiery Cross Reef.
In contrast, only one of the Philippine-controlled features has a runway, namely Thitu Reef.
In 1999, the Philippines intentionally ran aground a Navy transport ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, on the Second Thomas Shoal, manned by Philippine Marines, to assert the country’s claim to the area.
At Thursday’s press conference, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman also made reference to the Sierra Madre.
“If the Philippine side is really concerned about the ecological environment of the South China Sea, it should tow the warships illegally parked at Ren’ai Reef as soon as possible and stop discharging sewage into the sea, and also avoid irreversible damage to the sea caused by warships that continue to rust,” she said, using the Chinese name for the reef.
Under current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the country’s National Security Team began more regularly releasing its findings on what was really happening in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, Powell said.
“The Philippine government’s transparency policy has really gained it a lot of domestic support to react and international support for its position,” he said.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
