Carpio urges PH gov’t to sue China over destruction of coral reefs in Panatag Shoal

FILE: Supreme Court (SC) Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio on Tuesday, June 12, urged the Philippine government to lodge a new case against and demand damages from Beijing for the destruction of coral reefs in Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal. (Photo by Center for Strategic & International Studies, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Supreme Court (SC) Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio on Tuesday, June 12, urged the Philippine government to lodge a new case against and demand damages from Beijing for the destruction of coral reefs in Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal.

In his statement, Carpio said the Philippines should sue China for violating its obligation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“The arbitral tribunal already ruled on 12 July 2016 that China violated its obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment when China did not prevent Chinese fishermen from harvesting giants clams and destroying the coral reef in the process,” Carpio noted.

The Philippines, he said, was not awarded damages because it did not ask for it; however, this time, Manila should demand damages for the “economic losses” of its fishermen.

“We can also ask damages for the action of China in preventing our fishermen from fishing inside the lagoon of Scarborough Shoal in violation of the 13 July 2016 arbitral ruling,” Carpio said.

Carpio issued his statement after GMA News reported on Monday, June 11, that Chinese fishermen take giant clams and destroy coral reefs in the Panatag Shoal.

According to the report, Filipino fishermen from Masinloc in Zambales have witnessed what Chinese fishermen did with the giant clams and the corals.

“Pinaghuhukay nila e. ‘Yung nasira ang mga corals e. Dapat pangitlugan ng mga isda, wala na. Parang winasak lang (They dug it all up. The corals were destroyed. It is supposed to be the place where fish lay their eggs, but now it is gone. It has been destroyed),” a fisherman told GMA.

In the same report, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, who chairs the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea, also confirmed that it was the Chinese fishermen who destroyed the corals in the resource-rich area and told GMA that the Philippine government already brought the issue up to the Chinese authorities.

“Ipaparating uli natin ‘yan (We will relay this concern again),” Esperon said.

Aside from this, Chinese fishermen were also reported to have been taking fishes from local fisherfolks in Panatag Shoal.

[READ: China Coast Guard takes fishes from Pinoy fishermen in Panatag Shoal — reports says]

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua on Tuesday told reporters that the Chinese government is now investigating the matter and will punish those erring individuals if the allegations are proven true.