The continuous construction of artificial islands in the disputed West Philippine Sea remains the top threat to the marine environment, the Philippine Coast Guard said in a recent forum.

Vice Admiral Roy Echeverria, director of the PCG National Maritime Center, in his talk at the first of a series of biodiversity conferences, or Blue Talks, between the Philippines and France said the environmental damage happening in the WPS is alarming.

He attributed this to the island-building and construction by China as well as the destructive fishing methods of foreign fishermen.

“Unfortunately, some foreign fishermen are making persistent use of destructive fishing methods such as poison and cyanide. The island building and construction are also taking a toll on the seafloor habitats. The expansive island-building and massive infrastructure projects are destroying the living system of the marine creatures in the area, impacting thousands of species,” he said.

Last August, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources reported Chinese structures and military equipment on Subi or Zamora Reef, which on the Philippines’ continental shelf near Pag-asa Island in Palawan.

Echeverria said there is a need to study the amount of damage in the marine environment in the WPS and the long-term implications for the country, particularly for local fisheries, and to explore legal options against countries involved in the degradation of the marine resources.

“The Philippine Coast Guard conducted an underwater survey in some parts of the West Philippine Sea, specifically at Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal. We found that Rozul Reef exhibits an environment devoid of living organisms. On the other hand, Escoda Shoal presented a noticeable color difference between the top half of its sandbar and the portion that is submerged at low tide,” he said.

“Both areas clearly show a deep-dead marine ecosystem with minimal to no presence of life forms. It is not improbable that the other parts of the WPS are experiencing the same destruction and degradation,” Echeverria said.

For his part, Vice Admiral Robert Patrimonio, head of the PCG Maritime Security Law Enforcement Command, said the primary maritime security threat is the illegal unreported unregulated fishing conducted by both domestic and foreign fishermen.

Other security threats include smuggling, illegal transport of forest product, dangerous drugs trafficking, human trafficking, armed robberies at sea, and piracy and hijacking.

“Addressing the evolving maritime threats is a shared responsibility for all of us to suppress, if not mitigate. Precious information from our shipping and coastal communities, when shared with the proper authorities, would be vital in revising policies, strategies, and the deployment of our very limited and precious resources,” Patrimonio said.

Holistic program

French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel said the Blue Talk conference, co-organized by think tank Stratbase ADR Institute, is part of the Blue Nations initiative, a holistic program of bilateral cooperation between France and the Philippines working together as two maritime nations towards the next United Nations Ocean Conference, which will take place in France in June 2025.

“It was very important to start this cycle of five conferences with a discussion on biodiversity because this subject will be at the core of the next UNOC in France. Discussions on marine biodiversity and biodiversity conservation are also very important because the Philippines, an archipelagic state made up of more than 7,100 islands, maintains an existential link with the ocean,” Fontanel said.

She said the purpose of the conference is to foster a dialogue among all stakeholders to identify ways to help the policymakers better protect and preserve the biodiversity that we all depend on.

Fontanel said the second Blue Talk conference will be held on 21 November and will explore the possibility of having a maritime dialogue between France and the Philippines.