China has refuted the Philippines' accusations that it was responsible for the coral devastation in the West Philippine Sea and urged the latter to stop creating a "political drama."

"The Philippines' accusations have no factual basis. We urge relevant party of the Philippines to stop creating a political drama from fiction," said Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday night (Philippine time).

Mao did not mince his words when asked for a comment about the Philippines' Office of the Solicitor General's statement that it is studying the possibility of filing a new case against China over the destruction of corals in the West Philippine Sea before the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Over the weekend, the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command reported that there was massive coral harvesting in Rozul Reef. Days after, a similar observation was found in the seabed of Escoda Shoal.

Rozul and Escoda Shoal are both within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.

The report of missing and destroyed corals came following the sightings of Chinese maritime militia vessels in the area.

Philippine officials suspected that the coral destruction in the said areas is in preparation for China's reclamation activities in the area.

Over the past decades, China built numerous artificial islands in the West Philippine Sea, particularly in Spratlys — at the Fiery Cross, Subi, Mischief, Johnson South, Cuarteron, Gave and Hughes reefs.

The artificial islands are now serving as Chinese military posts with constructed airstrips, radar stations, and missile sites on their own.

'Tow away'

Beijing also blasted Manila over its concern about the environmental impact of the destruction of corals in the West Philippine Sea.

According to Mao, the Philippines should have towed away "rusting" BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal if it really genuinely cared about the environment.

"If the Philippines truly cares about the ecological environment of the South China Sea, it should tow away the illegally 'grounded' warship at Ren'ai Jiao as soon as possible, stop it from discharging polluted water into the ocean, and not let the rusting warship bring irrevocable harm to the ocean," he said.

The BRP Sierra Madre, a World War 2 ship, was aground in Ayungin Shoal since 1999. It serves as a permanent station of the Philippine military in the area in response to China's illegal occupation of Panganiban Reef in 1995.

The People's Republic of China claimed the vast South China Sea, which covers the West Philippine Sea.

On 12 July 2016, the Philippines won its arbitral case against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration – a landmark decision that China continues to reject.