Sandy Cay 'in degraded state,' PH marine study shows

Sandy Cay in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is now in a "degraded state," according to an assessment conducted by the government in the area.

According to experts and officials, they saw "low coral and fish diversity and abundance" in Sandy Cay, locally known as Pag-asa Cay.

Dr. Jonathan Anticamara from the UP Institute of Biology said at the Saturday News Forum that this is "possibly due to a combination of disturbances from overfishing, climate change impacts, and island-building activities in WPS."

"Pag-asa Cays have less than 10 coral and fish species per 100 sqm transect that we surveyed, and most (of) the observed corals and fish species are small in sizes," the team said during the presentation of their assessment. 

The group also discovered "rubble piled on Pag-asa Cays 1, 2 and 3 that are now exposed even during high tide."

"(The) coral rubble are piled on large live coral colonies, suggesting that those rubble are dumped on those live coral colonies," said the group in their assessment. 

"The pile of sand and rubble on Pag-asa Cays 1, 2 and 3 have many characteristics that are atypical of naturally formed coral or sandy barrier islands, indicating that these are possibly product of island building activities that are observed in WPS, but with some degree of uncertainty," it added.

Anticamara urged the Philippine government to be more vigilant regarding activities at Sandy Cay.

“I think that we should be very cautious and we should be very suspicious of these activities,” he said.

National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea spokesperon Jay Tarriela was quick to point to China for the "degradation" of Sandy Cay.

Sa tanong kung sino ang posibleng may kagagawan ng degraded state ng Pag-asa Cays sa West Philippine Sea, ayon kay NTF-WPS Spokesperson Cmdre. Jay Tarriela, “it’s only the People's Republic of China” | @dzbb pic.twitter.com/zxzMJYmts6

— Christian Maño (@xtian_mano) May 4, 2024

"If you are going to ask me now, who is our suspect in doing these illegal small island reclamation in Cays 1,2,3,4? There's no other country that we can pinpoint, it's only the People's Republic of China," said Tarriela. 

"Firstly, only China has access to these cays, which are located near their reclaimed military base on Subi Reef. Additionally, Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia are frequently observed swarming these cays," Tarriela meanwhile said on X (formerly Twitter).

Tarriela added that the China Coast Guard went "as far" as deploying a PLA-Navy Helicopter to prevent the Philippine government from completing its study.

Amid some calls for the Philippine Coast Guard to retaliate, Tarriela said the PCG adhered to the national government's policy of avoiding provocations that would lead to further aggressive actions by China.

“Kung ano lang din ang feeling ng mga Coast Guard personnel in particular, ‘yung nando’n sa loob ng bangko na inis na inis na rin, galit na galit, timping timpi dahil wala rin silang magawa,” Tarriela said.

(The feeling of the Coast Guard personnel in particular, they are manning their vessels, very annoyed, very angry, and very furious because there is nothing they can do.)

“However, we have a chain of command. We respect the guidance of our President, which is that we should not provoke, we should not be the reason for intensifying the escalation for China to justify once again and bring the next level of aggression,” Tarriela added.

In a statement, the Chinese Embassy reiterated that China has always been committed to properly managing maritime differences through dialogue and consultation with the Philippines through the “gentlemen's agreement.”

The embassy alleged that both China and the Philippines, through the AFP Western Command, agreed on a “new model” for the management of the situation at the Ayungin Shoal, and this "new model" had been approved by key Philippine officials.

However, the Philippine National Security Council dismissed the alleged "new model" as ''nothing more than a new invention'' by China.

"As the President has clearly stated, there is no agreement whatsoever about Ayungin Shoal and that we shall continue to do all activities within the bounds of international law and we shall brook no interference in our lawful actions," said National Security Adviser Eduardo Año.

He also said there is no document that would prove there was a "gentleman's agreement" involving the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte and the Chinese government.

In September 2023, dead and crushed corals were also found in Sandy Cay 2. Experts said this was a common procedure done by China before it starts reclamation activities.

In March, Several Filipino marine scientists were injured after they were reportedly harassed by a Chinese Navy helicopter at Sandy Cay. The helicopter reportedly flew low over the coalescing sand bars and the scientists for ten minutes.

The downwash from the helicopter scattered dead corals, causing cuts and scratches on the Filipino researchers.

Tarriela said "this behavior indicates their opposition to the marine scientific research conducted by the Philippines. It suggests that they may be concealing ongoing small-scale reclamation activities in the cays surrounding Pag-asa Island."

Sandy Cay is an area near Pag-asa Island in the town of Kalayaan, located in the West Philippine Sea.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Parts of the waters within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone have been renamed the West Philippine Sea.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in the Hague said China's claims had no legal basis. Beijing has rejected the decision. —VAL, GMA Integrated News