Lead by example

China is losing the West Philippine Sea (WPS) argument because it is clutching at straws in justifying its destructive moves in the disputed areas with its creation of artificial islands that is being condemned by a world repelled by its degradation of nature.

That China is reeling from the international disapproval is reflected in its recent effort to hit back, feebly citing the rusting BRP Sierra Madre as a threat to the surroundings of Ayungin Shoal and demanding that it be towed from where it rests.

Compared with the massive land reclamation that China is suspected of initiating at Escoda Shoal, near the resource-rich Reed Bank, the grounded ship’s presence is of little consequence.

PCG spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela recounted in a media forum the “small-scale reclamation” of the strategic shoal, in which China was “the most probable actor.”

Coast guard surveillance discovered piles of dead and crushed corals dumped on the sandbars of the maritime feature.

“The maritime features were likely altered,” Tarriela said, indicating a deliberate sinister plan for Escoda Shoal.

The use of dead corals as a foundation was the same method in the large-scale reclamation of the Spratly Islands, turning some features into artificial land masses equipped with airstrips, radar installations, and government buildings.

The Department of Justice is preparing a new complaint against China before the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration to hold it accountable for the devastation of marine life with the building of permanent structures.

The shoal is also the rendezvous point for vessels carrying out Filipino resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal.

For more than a year and a half, the China Coast Guard (CCG) has employed measures, of increasing severity, to block Philippine attempts to resupply its forces aboard the BRP Sierra Madre.

China’s Foreign Ministry, expectedly, denied it had begun reclamation at Escoda Shoal, dismissing the accusation as “groundless and pure rumor,” but recently the state’s usual mouthpiece ran a report on the landing ship beached on Ayungin Shoal since 1999.

The article came out on the heels of the successful civilian “Atin Ito” convoy of about 100 boats that sailed to the disputed region.

Similarly, the government has launched an investigation into allegations that Chinese embassy staff in Manila had spearheaded a disinformation campaign related to the South China Sea dispute.

China tried to parry the allegations piling up against it by pointing to the crumbling BRP Sierra Madre, the rehabilitation of which Beijing has continually blocked.

Beijing launched a pathetic attempt to turn the tables on the Philippines, citing the rust that has accumulated over the years on the ship.

Quoting a supposed marine expert, Beijing said that as the warship has been grounded for nearly 25 years, “the hull paint, the metal rust, the fossil fuels, and the domestic waste on the ship have been discharged for a long time on the reefs and waters around Ren’ai Jiao,” which is its name for Ayungin Shoal.

The report claimed toxins continue to spread around the grounded vessel “causing irreversible and continuous damage to the surrounding marine life.”

Of course, the report recommended the removal of the ship along with the Philippine Marines stationed on it.

“Instead of towing away the illegally grounded military vessel, they have attempted to carry out large-scale repairs and reinforcements on it,” the report said.

The BSP Sierra Madre stands as a beacon of the defiance of a small nation against the sea bullying only China is capable of, and there is no compelling reason for the Philippines to agree to leave Ayungin Shoal, which may eventually fall to the reclamation onslaught.

An alternative that Beijing can consider is helping the Philippines rehabilitate the BRP Sierra Madre, or better still to allow resupply vessels to deliver provisions for its upkeep.

Since it indicated extreme concern over the state of the sea, China should halt its wholesale destruction of marine life which happens whenever it creates an artificial island.