Philippines accuses China of dumping sewage off Spratly Islands
Chinese state-backed fishing vessels impacting environment inside Philippine EEZ.
The Manilla government has called for an investigation into the environmental impact of effluent discharged by hundreds of Chinese fishing vessels operating in the vicinity of the Spratly Islands in Philippine territorial waters.
US-based geospatial intelligence company, Simularity, has used satellite imaging to track chlorophyll in algal blooms emanating from the vessels and according to the company’s representative, Liz Derr, when the ships are stationary, the impact on the sensitive reef environment is cumulative.
“When the ships don’t move, the poop piles up,” Derr said in a recent presentation. “The hundreds of ships that are anchored in the Spratlys are dumping raw sewage onto the reefs they are occupying.”
“China treating us as its toilet is a clear violation of both international and local environmental laws,” said Philippine Senator Grace Poe on Tuesday. “If the laws of men are not enough, basic laws of human decency demand that we do not submit to this debasing treatment.”
