Tayaban, Hannah Isabella July 10, 2017

AB COM 4

Reefs not rockets: Group

hits Chinas abuses in
disputed sea
By: Yuji Vincent Gonzales - Reporter / @YGonzalesINQ
INQUIRER.net / 03:19 PM January 24, 2017

Envi group protests China's construction of bases in West PH Sea

News
Environmental group Kalikasan Peoples Network for the Environment (Kalikasan
PNE) on Tuesday trooped to the Chinese Consulate in Manila to protest the continuous
construction of military bases in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Clemente Bautista, Kalikasan PNE national coordinator, said the installation of missile
systems across the Spratlys islands was 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.

Reefs, not rockets, should be proliferating in the ecologically critical waters of the
West Philippine Sea 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, Bautista said.

Aside from its ecological effects, militarization in the West Philippine Sea increases
the possibility of armed confrontation between different military forces, he added.

US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies reported that Beijing
appeared to have placed anti-aircraft guns and anti-missile weapons systems designed
to guard against attacks on all of its man-made islands in the South China Sea.

Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said the Philippine government had filed a low-key
diplomatic protest with China regarding the matter

Source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/151977/reefs-not-rockets-ph-protests-chinas-
abuses-in-disputed-sea#ixzz4mNpsPrTh
Duterte, China urged to
rehabilitate damaged reefs
in West PH Sea
By: Kristine Angeli Sabillo - @KSabilloINQ
INQUIRER.net / 03:47 PM March 22, 2017

Ecological restoration, not infiltration by China, is what the West Philippine Sea needs,
according to an environmental group.

Leon Dulce, campaign coordinator of Kalikasan Peoples Network for the Environment
(Kalikasan PNE), said coral reefs in the area have been heavily degraded because of
Chinese activities.

Whether it is a radar base, missile installation, or environmental monitoring station,

Chinas construction boom across West PH Sea violates our national sovereignty and
has clearly caused great harm to vast coral reef ecosystems, he said in a statement.

If Dutertes pronouncements of an independent foreign policy hold any weight at all,

he should deliver on his administrations promise to file a strong protest against
Chinas construction with specific reference to the continuing destruction of our coral
reefs, he said.

Kalikasan PNE urged the President to take a stronger stance and relentlessly engage
China in bilateral talks to stop its further destruction of the Philippines marine natural
resources.

At the same time, Dulce said the Duterte government should support the efforts of
fisherfolk, scientists and other stakeholders.

What the West PH Sea badly needs is the ecological restoration of its heavily degraded
coral reefs, not the further conversion of its reefs into Chinese maritime bases, he said.
Foreign Affairs Acting Secretary Enrique Manalo on Wednesday assured the public
that the Philippine government is keeping a close watch on the shoal, especially after
reports that China is planning to build an environmental monitoring station there.

While Filipino fisherfolk have finally been allowed by China to access their traditional
fishing grounds in West PH Sea, fish stocks will continue to dwindle if the coral reef
expanses will remain unrehabilitated, Dulce said.

We are asking for crumbs from the goodwill of China when the International
Tribunal should have given us a solid foundation to firmly assert our self-determination
over our waters whether through diplomatic persuasion or international pressure, he
said. IDL

Source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/153736/duterte-china-urged-to-rehabilitate-
damaged-reefs-in-west-ph-sea#ixzz4mNrAnsH1