Philippines mulls court action against Beijing in South China Sea dispute
Al JazeeraCountry could file second case with International Court of Arbitration over China’s alleged destruction of coral reefs. Manila is exploring legal options against China over its alleged destruction of coral reefs within the Philippines’s exclusive economic zone in the disputed South China Sea. Manila and Beijing have clashed increasingly this year over the South China Sea, with Manila accusing the Chinese coastguard of “dangerous manoeuvres” around Second Thomas Shoal, known as Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines. “As clarified by the 2016 arbitral award on the South China Sea, this obligation applies in all maritime areas, both inside the national jurisdiction of states and beyond it,” Daza was quoted as saying by the Philippines News Agency. “States entering the Philippines’s EEZ and maritime zones, therefore, are likewise obliged to protect and preserve our marine environment.” The Philippine coastguard earlier said it had logged “extensive” damage not only on the seabed around Iroquois Reef, an area thought to be rich in oil and gas deposits, but also at Sabina Shoal, which lies about 72 nautical miles northwest of Palawan.