CHINA said the Philippines should tow away its “rusting” ship in the Ren’ai Jiao or Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and “stop polluting” the waters around it if it really cares about the environment.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) stressed this Thursday evening in reaction to the Philippines plan, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), to file a complaint against China before an international court for damage to its coral reefs in the South China Sea.
“The Philippines’ accusations have no factual basis. We urge relevant parties of the Philippines to stop creating a political drama from fiction,” MoFA spokesman Mao Ning said on Thursday.
“If the Philippines truly cares about the ecological environment of the South China Sea, it should tow away the illegally ‘grounded’ warship at Ren’ai Jiao as soon as possible, stop it from discharging polluted water into the ocean and not let the rusting warship bring irrevocable harm to the ocean,” she said.
Sen. Ana Teresia “Risa” Hontiveros has renewed her call for China to pay environmental damages for the destruction of the reef ecosystems in the WPS arising from its reclamation activities in the area.
The senator noted that the Philippine Coast Guard recently confirmed that the destruction of coral reefs in Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal was “most likely” caused by Chinese maritime militia vessels.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday night said it is awaiting relevant agencies’ assessment of the environmental damage in Rozul Reef.
In a statement, the DFA said that Article 192 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea “obliges States to protect and preserve the marine environment.”
“As clarified by the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea, this obligation applies in all maritime areas, both inside the national jurisdiction of States and beyond it. States entering the Philippines’ EEZ and maritime zones therefore are likewise obliged to protect and preserve our marine environment,” the DFA said.
The Foreign Affairs department said it also “understands that the OSG is exploring legal options that the country may pursue.”
The DFA added that it “stands ready to contribute to this effort and will be guided by the OSG on these matters.”
The Philippines had decided in 1999 to beach the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal in response to China’s illegal occupation of Panganiban Reef in 1995.”
The BRP Sierra Madre serves as a “permanent station for Philippine military personnel deployed to protect and secure Philippine rights and interests in the WPS, particularly in the Ayungin Shoal and its vicinity,” the DFA said.
Dr. Deo Onda, a scientist from the University of the Philippines’ Marine Science Institute, has estimated that the Philippines was losing around P33.1 billion annually from the damaged reef ecosystems in Panatag Shoal and Spratlys Islands due to China’s reclamation activities in the WPS.
Onda said that the amount was determined using a baseline value of $353,429 or P18 million per hectare per year for coral reefs based on a study conducted by Elsevier, a Dutch company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical information and analytics.
Source : The Manila Times
