China accusing the Philippines of being an environmental menace for allowing the rusting BRP Sierra Madre landing ship to remain moored at Ayungin Shoal is “hypocritical,” Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said.
“The statement of China that the grounded Sierra Madre is causing irrevocable harm is, to put it as politely as possible, hypocritical,” Teodoro, reacting to Mao’s statement, told reporters on Saturday.
Teodoro was reacting to Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning’s statement that the rusting BRP Sierra Madre ship was a pollutant and source of waste in the West Philippine Sea.
The BRP Sierra Madre is a landing vessel deliberately grounded on Ayungin Shoal in 1995 to serve as an outpost manned by a platoon of Marines.
Mao called the Philippines to tow the Sierra Madre away from the shoal.
He urged to “stop polluting” the waters around it “if it really cares about the environment.”
Philippine officials were not amused, however.
The Office of the Solicitor General said it is considering filing a lawsuit against China before an international court for destroying corals in at least two key features in the WPS, namely, Rozul or Iroquois Reef and Escoda or Sabina Shoal.
Pot calls kettle black
“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. China continues to damage the WPS with its illegal reclamation activities after it was found to be a violator of international law in the 2016 Arbitral Award when such activities damaged the marine environment,” Teodoro said.
He described China’s remarks as mere “propaganda” to divert international attention from its illegal activities in the WPS.
“Disingenuous propaganda lines such as this only serve to expose China’s insincerity and will only heighten the mistrust of the Filipino people and the rest of the world toward the Chinese government,” Teodoro said.
China has repeatedly denied the Philippines’ sovereign right over the WPS based on the 2016 arbitral ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.
Coral destruction, a crime
The Chinese foreign ministry also recently criticized the Philippines for creating “political drama” when it alleged massive coral harvesting at Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal.
“The destruction of corals goes far beyond drama. It is a violent act and a serious crime against humanity,” said Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Stop making (allegations) that the BRP Sierra Madre is polluting the waters, but blame it (on) your numerous Chinese maritime militia vessels swarming the Philippines’ EEZ,” Tarriela said.
Tarriela noted that the PCG conducted extensive underwater surveys of the seabed at both Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal.
“The results of these surveys showed that the marine ecosystem in the subject features appeared to be lifeless, with minimal to no signs of life. Moreover, the surveys conducted at Escoda Shoal revealed visible discoloration of its seabed, strongly indicating that deliberate activities may have been undertaken to modify the natural topography of the underwater terrain,” he said.
On Thursday, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the government would file environmental cases against China for its destructive activities in the WPS before the Permanent Court of Arbitration as it has a lot of evidence to pursue a case.
Remulla said the case filing was not connected to the territorial dispute, maintaining that the “destruction of the environment is a sin against humanity.”
On the other hand, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra confirmed the plan to file charges against China before the arbitral court.
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