The Philippines can use the recent environmental degradation on Pag-asa Island in its case build-up for another arbitral case against China, officials said on Saturday.

During the Saturday News Forum, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Jay Tarriela said the latest marine resource assessment result conducted by a scientific team led by Dr. Jonathan Anicamara in Pag-asa Island will be part of the evidence being gathered by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to support its case buildup against China.

Anticamara from the University of the Philippines (UP) Institute of Biology and his team did a study of the marine resources in Pag-asa Cays 1, 2, and 3.

This gives scientists a scientific reason for the destruction of marine resources inside the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

"We're just actually waiting for the official scientific study of Dr. Anticamara. And then from the Philippine Coast Guard together with BFAR, since we are the lead agency in doing this research assessment in support of the course of the University of the Philippines, we're going to formally forward this to the NTF-WPS and then in NTF-WPS," Tarriela said.

"As you're aware, the Department of Justice is part of that interagency task force. So, most likely, the findings of Dr. Anticamara will also be forwarded to the Department of Justice and as what Sir Jay has mentioned, this can be used to support their case buildup against the People's Republic of China," Tarriela added.

China responsible for environmental degradation

Tarriela added that China should be responsible for the environmental damage in the West Philippine Sea.

The National Task Force in the West Philippines (NTF-WPS) has already told the PCG to stay in the water to stop China from doing anything wrong.

However, Tarriela said that the PCG should not be provoked by China's aggressive actions in the contested waters as the Coast Guard personnel follow a chain of command.

"We have a chain of command. We respect the guidance of our President. The guidance of the President is that we should not be provoked, we should not be the reason for intensifying the escalation for China to justify to once again bring the next level of aggression against their next move," Tarriela said.

"We have to maintain professionalism in dealing with this kind of bullying of the Chinese Coast Guard," Tarriela added.

The PCG official said it's unfair to describe the Coast Guard personnel as cowards, noting "we are just doing our patriotic duty."

China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels blasted water cannons against PCG's BRP Bagacay and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources' (BFAR) BRP Datu Bankaw last 30 April, causing over P2 million in damages.

UP College of Law - Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea Atty. Jay Batongbacal, who was also present during the forum, said that the Philippines can follow up on the previous findings in the arbitration against China for actively and deliberately destroying coral reefs as a result of its reclamation activities.

Such activities are violations of international law because they contravene obligation to preserve and protect the marine environment, he added. 

"The other aspects that are being changed, the facets on the ground, that's a different issue. But at the very least, this destruction of coral and deliberate alteration of the marine environment can be the basis for another case following up on the 2016 arbitration," Batongbacal said.

"It's an important point because, at the time of the arbitration, this was not yet noticed, but after the arbitration, that was it. We think that the original formation might be due to the sedimentation caused by the dredging at Subi Reef, because they disturbed the area, spreading the sand there or whatever material that was not placed on Subi Reef itself," Batongbacal added.