DoJ finalizing environmental complaint vs China — Clavano

The Department of Justice (DoJ) expects to finalize “in a few weeks” the environmental case the Philippines plans to file against China over the latter’s activities in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), department spokesperson Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano has said.

Clavano told reporters the DoJ is working closely with the Office of the Solicitor General to solidify the complaint.

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

“Hopefully, with the help of the Solicitor General, we will be able to file an environmental case against China,” he added.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla first announced plans to file the case in September 2023, following reports of massive coral destruction in the West Philippine Sea’s (WPS) Rozul (Iroquois) Reef.

The government earlier targeted filing the case in early 2024. Discussions on the environmental case have been ongoing since 2023 due to China’s activities in the WPS, which has been blamed for damaging the area’s marine biodiversity.

Reports indicate that China’s presence in the West Philippine Sea has resulted in the destruction of an estimated 2,000 hectares of coral reefs.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) based in The Hague sided with the Philippines in its complaint against China regarding the latter’s claim to nearly the entire South China Sea, which overlaps the WPS.

The PCA ruled that China’s nine-dash line territorial demarcation had no legal basis under the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea, ruling that certain features claimed by Beijing were not islands entitled to exclusive economic zone (EEZ) status, but rather low-tide elevations with limited maritime zones.

China’s actions violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights within its EEZ, the court said, but China has not recognized the ruling.