The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced on Saturday that Coral reefs in Rozul Reef, where suspected Chinese militia vessels have been spotted, are now entirely gone.  AFP Western Command commander Vice Admiral Alberto Carlo shared the alarming observation with the public this Saturday at the "Saturday News Forum" event held in Quezon City.

The military commander said the WesCom noticed a resurgence of Chinese vessels in Rozul Reef in August, just a month after they drove away around 50 Chinese maritime militia (CMM) vessels in the area.

“We noticed coral harvesting in their swarming areas. After they departed, we pinpointed the location and dispatched divers for an underwater survey. They observed that no corals remained – everything was damaged, with debris scattered,” Carlos stated.

“There’s nothing left in the area,” Carlos emphasized later.

Although WesCom was not definitively asserting that the Chinese vessels are harvesting corals, Carlos said there were “indications” that “strongly suggest” such activities may be occurring. 

Carlos emphasized that this raises concerns about violations of the country’s sovereign rights in the WPS.

It is also alarming because he said it might seem that the AFP is remiss in its duty to protect the West Philippine Sea. 

He said that they would increase their military presence in the Philippine territory due to the resurgence of Chinese vessels swarming around the area and the massive harvesting of corals.

“There was a considerable amount of time na walangswarming doon (that there was no swarming there) because of our presence there,” he said.

“We’d like to maintain 100%, 365 days a year. But because of the weather, limited resources…our troops have to go back to port to refuel, to take some rest,” Carlos added.

Rozul Reef, also known as Iroquois Reef, is located at the southern end of Reed Bank, an area northeast of the Spratly Islands thought to be rich in oil and gas.  It lies within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf — giving Manila the exclusive right to explore, exploit, and manage living and non-living resources within said area.

Philippine hydrocarbon exploration in the area was postponed in 2011 after Chinese harassment of a Philippine vessel surveying the area. Manila froze exploration again in 2014 pending the results of its arbitration case against Beijing. The freeze was lifted in 2020 but concrete plans to resume exploration have yet to materialize. Reed Bank was also the site where a likely Chinese militia vessel, the Yue Maobin Yu 42212, rammed and sank a Filipino fishing boat, F/B Gem-Ver, in 2019.

Beijing to this day continues to assert its right to almost the entire South China Sea, even after the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration already invalidated China's nine-dash line claim in 2016 after the Philippines took the Asian giant to the international tribunal.

Image source: AFP Western Command