“We are concerned about the situation that is taking place there,” Philippine national security spokesman Jonathan Malaya said at a news conference.
There is a growing consensus amongst governments on the necessity to bring a case against China over its destruction of coral reefs, including harvesting of endangered giant clams, within the South China Sea, Malaya added.
Photos taken by the Philippine Coast Guard in 2018-2019 showed what it said were Chinese fishermen illegally harvesting giant clams, rays, scallops and sea turtles, destroying the shoal’s marine habitat.
They don’t really care concerning the marine environment
“This is clear evidence of carelessness. They don’t really care about the marine environment,” Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela said at a conference Monday.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Beijing has repeatedly denied it is destroying coral reefs.
“If you really believe in what you say, open Bajo de Masinloc to international control. It has to be a third party,” Malaya said, using Manila’s name for the Scarborough Shoal.
Malaya said China has no authority over the high seas and the newest rules violate international law, dismissing them as “intimidation tactics” aimed toward intimidating and coercing its Asian neighbors.
“The Philippines will not be intimidated or coerced by the Chinese Coast Guard. We will never succumb to these intimidation tactics,” he said.
