Large Amounts of Garbage Appear in Waters Around Illegally “Grounded” Philippine Vessel; China Coast Guard Organizes Retrieval

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Recently, while conducting law-enforcement patrols in waters near Second Thomas Shoal, the China Coast Guard Dong’an vessel formation found large amounts of garbage floating on the sea. Large oil drums, plastic bottles, wrapping paper, discarded cables, and other waste appeared in waters surrounding the BRP Sierra Madre, the Philippine vessel illegally “grounded” at China’s Second Thomas Shoal. The China Coast Guard dispatched several small boats to retrieve the waste from the area.

A China Media Group CCTV reporter observed inside the lagoon of Second Thomas Shoal that the water in some reef-flat areas was crystal clear. Large numbers of marine organisms lived there, various tropical fish swam freely, and multicolored coral reefs were plainly visible.

Coral reefs in the waters of Second Thomas Shoal photographed by the reporter.

The area around the hull of the BRP Sierra Madre, illegally “grounded” by the Philippines at China’s Second Thomas Shoal, shows obvious bleaching.

When this garbage is dumped into the sea, it causes serious pollution of the marine environment. The Philippine vessel BRP Sierra Madre has been illegally grounded at China’s Second Thomas Shoal for more than twenty years; its hull is now rust-covered and badly dilapidated. Many people are still living aboard the BRP Sierra Madre. Their long-term dumping of various kinds of garbage into the sea constitutes serious damage to the marine environment and has caused great concern among marine environmentalists.

The Philippine vessel BRP Sierra Madre, illegally “grounded” at China’s Second Thomas Shoal, dumps garbage into the sea.

Reprinted from Sinocism