South China Sea: Philippines sounds alarm over damage to coral reefs due to Beijing’s reclamation activities

“So if there is one country that we have to hold responsible for the damage to the environment, to our coral reef… it will only be the People’s Republic of China,” Tarriela said.

“And if you are going to ask me now who is our suspect in the illegal reclamation of small islands in (Pag-asa bays)… there is no other country we can point to, no – it is only the People’s Republic of China.”

Some countries with overlapping claims in the region, including China and Vietnam, have turned reefs in the Spratlys into artificial islands that they have used to build airstrips, military facilities and ports.

In March, when the Anticamara research group conducted its first investigations, journalists witnessed Chinese coast guard ships and militias blockading the research team’s ship and performing dangerous maneuvers.

Anticamara’s group claimed during Saturday’s press conference that coral reefs in other parts of the country were also suffering degradation.

A report entitled ‘Deep Blue Scars: Environmental Threats to the South China Sea’, published late last year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), found that dredging and dumping in the past decade years of operations attributed to China had caused significant coral reef damage in the waters of the Philippines.

According to the report, China’s dredging to build its artificial islands from late 2013 to 2017 disturbed the seabed, creating clouds of abrasive sediment that killed nearby marine life and overwhelmed the coral reefs’ ability to repair themselves.

The report notes that the South China Sea is home to 571 of the world’s 1,683 reef-forming coral reefs and 22 percent of the 3,790 fish species.

“The results show that China has caused the most reef destruction through dredging and land filling, burying approximately 4,648 hectares of reefs. AMTI estimates that approximately 16,535 hectares of reef has been damaged by China’s giant clam harvest,” the report said.

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Why the South China Sea dispute remains one of the region’s most pressing issues

Why the South China Sea dispute remains one of the region’s most pressing issues

The ATMI report urged governments embroiled in maritime disputes in the South China Sea to pay equal attention to the rapid degradation of the region’s marine environment.

“The damage is directly caused by human activity that is permitted, supported and initiated by coastal states. Therefore, coastal states must also be at the center of efforts to stop destructive practices and protect marine ecosystems before it is too late,” the study said.

“China has played the largest role, destroying or severely damaging at least 21,183 hectares of coral reef – and probably much more – through island expansion and giant clam harvesting. It also dominates the industrialized overfishing that has devastated fish stocks in the South China Sea.”

Last month, the Chinese embassy in Manila asserted its sovereign rights over the island of Pag-asa, which it calls Zhongye Dao, and accused the Philippines of “illegally occupying” the area.

Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said China’s land reclamation activities since 2014 and the swarming of its maritime militia ships that began in 2017 were the biggest causes of the destruction of the maritime environment.

“So we can see the lingering effects of the damage. Their maritime militia ships anchored in fish habitats are also causing damage,” he told This Week in Asia.

Regarding long-term environmental impacts, Batongbacal said the recovery of coral reefs would take years or possibly decades if destructive activities continued. “If the reefs cannot recover and damage continues to accumulate, the situation will only get worse.”

Batongbacal also said the damage would have serious economic consequences as about 27 percent of the Philippines’ fish supply would come from the disputed waters.

“If they destroy the habitats in which the fish can recover, in the long term the value they have contributed to the national economy and food security will be gone,” he said.

In September, Philippine Senator Risa Hontiveros said China should be held responsible for massive coral harvesting in the West Philippine Sea and filed a resolution calling on the government to demand payment from Beijing for the environmental damage.

The West Philippine Sea is Manila’s term for the part of the South China Sea that demarcates its maritime territory and includes the exclusive economic zone.

“We will get billions if China is forced to pay. They deprive our fishermen of their livelihood, they even destroy our natural resources. “If China can pay off all its debts to the Philippines, it will certainly help with the economic crisis we are facing,” she said.

Hontiveros cited estimates that the Philippines lost about 33.1 billion Philippine pesos ($577 million) annually due to damage to coral reefs caused by China’s land reclamation activities.

“We have the right to demand payment,” she said.