DAVAO CITY, Philippines — A Manila-based environmental group condemned China on Tuesday for its continued construction of missile bases across the reefs at the Spratlys Islands.
“Reefs, not rockets, should be proliferating in the ecologically critical waters of the West Philippine Sea. China’s installation of missile systems across Spratlys islands is not only provoking tension but also worsening the degradation of marine ecosystems that is home to over 30 percent of known coral reef expanses across the world,” Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, said in a statement.
Kalikasan PNE staged a rally outside the Chinese Consulate today to call the attention of the Chinese government.
“Operating military bases are also known sources of polluters, as transport fuel, toxic or hazardous war materiel, and other harmful impacts generated by their operations routinely pollute their surrounding environment. Aside from its ecological effects, militarization in West PH Sea increases the possibility of armed confrontation between different military forces” Bautista said.
The group also claimed that China has reclaimed a total of 1,294 hectares of shoals and submerged islets which they believed will “destroy precious coral reefs and other marine ecosystems in the process of building artificial islands and constructing military bases and missile defense systems.”
“Reclamation and militarization do not bode well for the marine wealth of the West Philippine Sea, which is known to hold the third biggest expanse of coral reefs in the world. These reefs serve as home to 3,365 known species of fish and generate a yearly catch of 16.6 million tons of fish, according to various authorities,” the group added.
Kalikasan PNE said the Philippine government should demand China “to cease and desist its military activities in the area and pull out its military forces particularly those encroaching the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zones.”
“If China wants peaceful diplomacy, it should stop expanding military installations in West Philippine Sea and instead focus on coming together in a multilateral agreement with the different claimant countries on sustainably managing the region’s marine resources, promoting scientific research and development and ensuring peace and respect of sovereignty in the troubled waters,” it said. (davaotoday.com)
