The National Task Force on West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) on Tuesday refuted the results of the Chinese “extensive and detailed onsite ecosystem survey” around Rena’ai Jiao also known as Ayungin Shoal.
Global Times reported on Monday that the BRP Sierra Madre that was deliberately grounded in the area by the Armed Forces of the Philippines has caused damage to the coral reefs and environmental pollution in the South China Sea.
NSC Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said that the accusation against the Philippines by so-called “Chinese experts” is false and a classic misdirection.
“It is China who has been found to have caused irreparable damage to corals. It is China that has caused untold damage to the maritime environment, and jeopardized the natural habitat and the livelihood of thousands of Filipino fisherfolk,” Malaya emphasized.
According to a Global Times report, China has “solid evidence” showing the grounded warship is the main culprit of the environmental issues in Ayungin Shoal.
“Based on remote-sensing and field investigation, the survey showed a sharp decline in the distribution of scleractinia coral on the reef flat and lagoon slope of Ren’ai Jiao, particularly around the area where Philippine military vessel is illegally grounded,” the report reads.
The Task Force on the other hand cited the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 stating that China is in fact has involvement in the destruction of the marine environment in WPS by building a large artificial island on Mischief Reef among others “inflicting permanent, irreparable harm” to the coral habitat in several water features of the Philippines in WPS.
“The Arbitral Tribunal found that Chinese authorities were aware that their fishers were harvesting endangered sea turtles, coral, and giant clams on a substantial scale in the South China Sea, using methods that inflict severe damage on the coral reef environment, and they had not fulfilled their obligations to stop such activities.”
The Task Force also called on the public and the international community to be wary and conscious of on-going activities by Chinese state-owned media and so-called “Chinese experts” to spread fake news and disinformation and conduct malign influence operations in the Philippines, including this false accusation against BRP Sierra Madre.
The Task Force also called for an independent marine scientific assessment in WPS and invited Indo-Pacific nations to join Manila for “more united, coordinated, and sustained multilateral action” to protect and preserve the marine and land biodiversity in our region.
