MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) confirmed that the Rozul Reef — an area within West Philippine Sea where Chinese vessels were seen swarming — has been completely stripped off of its naturally occurring corals.
AFP Western Command commander Vice Admiral Alberto Carlo shared the alarming observation to the public this Saturday at the "Saturday News Forum" event held in Quezon City.
"'Yung swarming areas nila, we pinpointed it. And then when they left, we sent out our divers to do another water survey," said Carlos in a report by the You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
"And then nakita namin na wala nang corals. Nasira na 'yung mga corals and then may mga debris."
Rozul Reef, also known as Iroquios Reef, lies within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf — giving Manila the You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
WESCOM's air assets You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. the presence of 23 alleged Chinese fishing vessels within Rozul Reef last September 6 to 7, this while also observing additional swarming of five vessels in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal and two others in Baragatan (Nares) Bank.
The AFP WESCOM earlier called this "intrusion a violation of Philippine sovereign rights and jurisdiction."
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