There is no indication that the crushed corals found in several features in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) were a result of human activity, a ranking Philippine Navy (PN) official said Tuesday.
In a media briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, PN spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the coral buildup may have been due to “tidal movement or weather disturbances.”
“In our checks with other our partner agencies in the maritime domain, (the Philippine) Coast Guard and BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources), there was no noted presence of any vessel that was dumping crushed corals,” Trinidad said.
The crushed corals have been observed in Hasa-Hasa Shoal, Sabina Shoal, and Sandy Cay in Pag-asa Island.
“The rise, however, of the elevation of these features could be attributed to the weather disturbances that we encountered in the past months. So, tidal movement or weather disturbances usually pile up crushed corals on shallow portions of the WPS,” Trinidad said.
Regardless of the elevation of the WPS features, the military’s posture in the area will remain the same, he said.
“We are there to secure the integrity of our national territory,” Trinidad said. (PNA)
