Philippines' illegal fishing, construction activities damage coral reef ecosystem: survey

The Philippines' illegal fishing and construction activities have been damaging the coral reef ecosystem in the South China Sea, according to the newly-released survery report from China's Ministry of Natural Resources.

Titled "A Survey Report on the Coral Reef Ecosystems of Tiexian Jiao and Niu'e Jiao," the document was released on Friday and produced by the South China Sea Development Research Institute of the Ministry of Natural Resources together with other research institutions.

China's Natural Resources Ministry carried out the field investigation from April to August last year. Tiexian Jiao and Niu'e Jiao, revealing that the coral reef ecosystem in Tiexian Jiao has degraded severely, and the condition of Niu'e Jiao remains healthy.

Chinese scientists found that the coral reef ecosystem in Tiexian Jiao has degraded severely, with the reef-building coral coverage decreasing by nearly 70 percent from 2016 to 2024.

Affected by the outbreak of crown-of-thorns starfish, the coral reef ecosystem of Tiexian Jiao has degraded severely, the report said, adding that from 2016 to 2024, the reef-building coral coverage area at the atoll reef platform where Tiexian Jiao is located decreased by about 68.9 percent.

The document noted that tropical cyclone strikes and frequent human activities, especially the Philippines' continuous and illegal construction on Zhongye Dao are also causes of the deterioration of the coral reef ecosystem of Tiexian Jiao.

"We found discarded fishing nets and wires in the waters near Tiexian Jiao, some marked with Filipino language, some marked 'made in Philippines'. Satellite imagery from 2016 to 2024 also shows that coral coverage in a 2.5-kilometer radius west of Zhongye Island has dropped by 81.8 percent, an even steeper decline than on the Tiexian Jiao side," said Wei Zheng, expert of the South China Sea Development Research Institute.

According to the report, satellite remote sensing and on-site survey data showed that the three cays on Tiexian Jiao reef flat and the one cay on Niu'e Jiao reef flat are all above water at high tide, with apparent natural characteristics, regular changes of position and form, and sufficient materials fostering their growth and formation.

"The Nansha Islands had high coverage of branching reef-building corals. Branching corals are known for their rapid growth but are easily damaged by external forces. In the Nansha Islands, hydrodynamic activity causes broken and dead coral fragments to accumulate, providing abundant material for the formation and development of islands, reefs, and sandbanks," said Cao Yonggang, expert of the South China Sea Survey Center.

Philippines' illegal fishing, construction activities damage coral reef ecosystem: survey

Russia is doing everything necessary to protect the country's interests, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday in response to the U.S. plan to provide Patriot missiles to Ukraine.

Peskov said that the Russian government is doing everything necessary to protect the country and knows perfectly well what to do.

The spokesman emphasized that everything necessary is being done to protect Russia's interests.

The United States is actively continuing to supply weapons and military technologies to Ukraine, and Russia is well aware of this and has no delusions, he said.

The spokesman also noted that Russia considers the U.S. statements suggesting that an escalation of Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure would help bring about a peaceful settlement as reflecting a "mistaken judgment."

Moscow sees a degree of duality in Washington's position, Peskov said, adding that while the United States continues to supply weapons and military technologies to Kiev, it has also maintained its desire to help advance the peace process.

Russia believes the desire to be sincere and welcomes it, he said.

Moscow hopes that Washington will resume its efforts on the Ukraine issue after addressing the situation surrounding Iran, Peskov said.

Peskov also said that, despite remaining differences in positions, there still exists a constructive dialogue channel between the presidents of Russia and the United States.

The United States will grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot missiles domestically amid critical shortages of interceptors, U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday during the NATO summit in Ankara when meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Media reports suggest that although Trump said that he would grant production licenses to Ukraine, it is complex and costly to manufacture the Patriot missiles, with the production cycle remaining unknown.

Russia doing everything necessary to protect country's interests: Kremlin spokesman