Chinese study: No evidence of widespread damage to corals at disputed reef

China released an ecological report Friday containing what is said was evidence to refute Philippine criticism that Chinese vessels had caused environmental damage at a hotly disputed reef. 

To back up Beijing’s territorial claim over Sabina Shoal, which has become a new flashpoint between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, the Chinese Natural Resources Ministry said there was no evidence of widespread coral bleaching on the reef.

The corals there are “generally in good health with some localized damages,” its report said.  

Manila had suspected Beijing of building an artificial reef around Sabina Shoal, known as Escoda Shoal in the Philippines and as Xianbin Jiao in China, after discovering that crushed corals had been dumped there. This had damaged the ecosystem around the reef, Manila said.

But the authors of the new report said that “frequent human activities” by Philippine personnel had caused a significant impact in and around Sabina Shoal.

China also accused the Philippines of “illegally mooring” ships, including a large coast guard vessel – the BRP Teresa Magbanua – in the shoal’s lagoon, disrupting the normal coral growth in the area.

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On Wednesday, the Chinese coast guard said that a Philippine helicopter had dropped supplies to the BRP Teresa Magbanua after attempts by the Philippine Coast Guard to resupply the ship were repeatedly blocked by China.

The ship has been in the area since April, the longest deployment of a Philippine coast guard vessel, to monitor China’s suspected “illegal activities” at the shoal.

China accused the Philippines of “forcibly occupying” Sabina Shoal while the Philippine coast guard insisted that the ship was on a regular deployment to “maintain our presence and ensure the protection of this area.”

The standoff resulted in several collisions, for which the two sides blamed each other.

Radio Free Asia contacted the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs for reaction to the Chinese report but did not immediately receive a response.

Sabina Shoal a Chinese island?

Sabina Shoal is generally known as a low-tide elevation in the Spratly Islands, well inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and only 75 nautical miles (140 km) from the Philippine island of Palawan.

An EEZ gives the coastal state exclusive access to natural resources in the waters and in the seabed.

However, the Chinese survey – done between May and July this year – found that parts of the naturally formed shoal are above water at high tide. 

This means the shoal can qualify as an island in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, said Chen Xiangmiao from the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, as cited by China’s state-run tabloid The Global Times.

UNCLOS says that “an island is a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide” and it is entitled to its own territorial sea, as well as an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf if it can sustain human habitation.

If Sabina Shoal is recognized as a Chinese island, China can claim sovereignty to the waters around it, making the presence of Philippine vessels there illegal.

But in order to gain recognition, Beijing will have to bring the case to the U.N. in a long legal process. 

China claims most of the South China Sea despite protests from neighboring countries and an arbitration tribunal ruling in 2016 that China’s claims were unlawful. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have territorial claims in the strategic waterway.

Radio Free Asia (RFA), a news organization affiliated with BenarNews, produced this report.