The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) defended the veracity of the survey showing the destruction of corals, and the damage of the seabed in areas frequented by Chinese militia vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
"What we released are actual photos and footages. We showed the world the world kung paano namatay ang corals dito," Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said during DZRH's Dos Por Dos on Monday, September 25.
He stressed the severity of what he called "illegal actions"and "crimes against humanity" committed the Chinese militia vessels in the Rozul Reef, and the Escoda Shoal.
"These are not made-up stories. We can back our claim with the real evidence," Tarriela added.
The PCG official also hit at the remarks of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, who said that allegations of the Philippines "have no factual basis."
Mao even told the Philippines "to stop creating a political drama from fiction."
"We don't need drama to convince the international community with this deliberate violation of the People's Republic of China," Tarriela said.
In a previous statement, PCG said that the "continued swarming for an indiscriminate illegal and destructive fishing activities of the Chinese Maritime Militia" may may have directly caused the degradation and destruction of the marine environment in the Rozuf Reef and Escoda Shoal.
