PH rejects China’s accusation of environmental damage in South China Sea

The Philippines rejected on Tuesday China’s accusation that its grounded warship on the contested Second Thomas Shoal in the South China had damaged the coral reef ecosystem in the area, laying the blame for damaging the marine environment on Beijing.
The Philippine task force on the South China Sea in a statement called for an independent, third party marine scientific assessment of the causes of coral reef damage in the South China Sea.
The task force said, “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 jeopardised the natural habitat and the livelihood of thousands of Filipino fisherfolk.”
On Monday, China’s Ministry of Natural Resources said in a report that Philippine warships have been “illegally beached” around Second Thomas Shoal near what it calls Nansha Islands for a long time, “and it has seriously damaged the diversity, stability and sustainability of the reef ecosystem”.