WEST PHILIPPINE SEA: AN UNFOLDING ECOLOGICAL CATASTROPHE

"I SHALL never tire of repeating the declaration that I made from the first day that I took office: I will not allow any attempt by any foreign power to take even one square inch of our sovereign territory," President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in his speech delivered before the Parliament of Australia in February 2024.

On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands ruled in favor of the Philippines, finding that China's claims including its nine-dash line, land reclamation activities and other activities in the South China Sea (also known as the West Philippine Sea) were unlawful. The arbitration court was constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea which both China and the Philippines ratified.

A few days ago, I participated in a two-day forum "The West Philippine Sea as a Ground Zero of Emerging Risks and Opportunities," organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute and the United States Institute of Peace. The forum focused on the maritime security situation in the West Philippine Sea and explored areas of cooperation with other countries like Japan and Taiwan.

As Filipinos, how concerned are we? According to The State of Southeast Asia 2024 Report, 90.2 percent of Filipino respondents are concerned with the aggressive behavior happening in the West Philippine Sea.

While China outmatches the Philippines economically, diplomatically and militarily, its aggression in the West Philippines Sea has severe ecological damages like marine pollution, overfishing, coral reef destruction, loss of biodiversity, displacement of communities and climate change impacts, among others. Its activities in the West Philippine Sea — the construction of artificial islands, military installations and infrastructure development — can lead to pollution of marine ecosystems through the discharge of untreated sewage, oil spills and hazardous waste.

Pollution can harm marine life, damage coral reefs and degrade water quality, affecting the local fishing communities' livelihoods and the region's biodiversity.

The study "Deep Blue Scars: Environmental Threats to the South China Sea," released by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in December 2023, revealed that about 22 percent of the world's fish species are found in the West Philippine Sea, making it one of the world's top five fishing areas in the Indo-Pacific region. At least 3.7 million people depend on fishing as their source of livelihood.

Threatened biodiversity

China's legal and illegal fishing fleets are active in the West Philippine Sea. Their practices, including overfishing, bottom trawling and dynamite fishing, are depleting fish stocks, disrupting marine ecosystems and putting approximately 115,000 fish species at risk. In his book "Dispatches from the South China Sea: Navigating to Common Ground," journalist James Borton estimated that catch rates have decreased by 70 percent over the past two decades.

Coral reefs in the area, home to 571 of the world's 1,683 reef-forming coral species, are vital for marine biodiversity. They protect coastlines from erosion and support the coastal communities' livelihoods in tourism and fisheries.

China's construction of artificial islands and military facilities involves destructive activities like dredging and land reclamation. As a result, more than 500 coral reefs and other sensitive marine habitats have been destroyed. According to the AMTI study, China has caused the destruction by dredging and landfills, covering approximately 4,648 acres of reefs.

The West Philippine Sea is home to a high level of marine biodiversity, with over 6,500 marine species. However, habitat destruction, pollution and illegal fishing threaten this biodiversity. China's actions in the region could further contribute to the loss of biodiversity through habitat destruction, overexploitation of natural resources and the introduction of invasive species.

Its military presence and territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea could result in the displacement of Indigenous communities and fishing villages from their traditional lands and fishing grounds. Displacement of communities can have severe social and economic consequences, disrupting traditional livelihoods, cultural practices and social networks.

The West Philippine Sea is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as sea level rise, ocean acidification and increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. China's activities, such as land reclamation and infrastructure development, can worsen these impacts by altering coastal ecosystems, reducing climate change resilience and increasing the vulnerability of coastal communities.

China, the Philippines and other nations need to prioritize the ecological catastrophe unfolding in the West Philippine Sea, rising above politics. While diplomatic and military efforts are ongoing, it is crucial to discuss the potential economic, social and ecological dangers and take action to prevent further harm.

The author ([email protected]) is the executive director of the Young Environmental Forum and a nonresident fellow of Stratbase ADR Institute. He completed a climate change and development course at the University of East Anglia (UK) and an executive program on sustainability leadership at Yale University (USA).

2024-04-26T16:16:15Z dg43tfdfdgfd