After China accused Beijing of destroying the shoal’s aquatic setting, the Philippines launched a protest against China on May 20.
National Security Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya stated at a press conference that” we are alarmed and worried about the situation that is happening there.”
Malaya claimed that there was now growing consensus within the Spanish government regarding the need to bring a lawsuit against China for the South China Sea’s harvest of endangered big clams and the loss of coral reefs.
In 2016, the Philippines won a landmark win in a lawsuit brought by China that found that Beijing’s claim to have autonomy over the majority of the South China Sea had no legal basis.
China has repeatedly refuted the claims of coral reef death, which has refused to accept the 2016 decision and has chafed at the recent mention of the case by Western powers.
” If you really believe in what you’re saying, opened up Bajo de Masinloc to foreign investigation, it has to be a third party” Malaya said.
The Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal is used in Manila as a reference to Scarborough Shoal.