PH set to sue China over damage in WPS

THE government is putting the final touches on an environmental suit that the Philippines will file against China for its alleged destructive activities in the West Philippine Sea.

The environmental case, which will be filed before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, is expected to be completed in the next few weeks, and will include attachments containing evidence gathered by the Philippines, said Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano IV of the Department of Justice.

«We need to strengthen all the pieces of evidence that need to be attached,» Clavano said during a public briefing Thursday. «But we are confident that in a few weeks, we will complete our complaint and the attached evidence.»

Clavano earlier said legal experts have provided inputs to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.

In September last year, Remulla said that with or without the Philippines' territorial dispute with China, they would still file the case on behalf of the Philippines and «for the sake of mankind since the destruction of the environment is a sin against humanity.»

Remulla pointed out that the Philippine government has been gathering evidence of China's destructive activities in the West Philippine Sea for many years.

He said the documentation only gained momentum «in the last few months» of 2023.

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The announcement of the filing of an environmental case against China came after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) confirmed last year the report released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command about the severe damage inflicted upon the marine environment and coral reef in the seabed of Rozul (Iroquois) Reef, an area which is part of the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

This is the same area where about 33 Chinese maritime vessels were monitored to be «swarming» from Aug. 9 to Sept. 11, 2023.

During the same period, the PCG said it launched missions to conduct extensive underwater surveys of the seabed of Rozul Reef.

The results of these surveys showed that the marine ecosystem in the area «appeared lifeless, with minimal to no signs of life.»

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Moreover, the surveys conducted in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal revealed