Alleged Chinese trash washed ashore on Pag-asa Island

Trash that seemed to have come from Chinese vessels washed ashore on Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea, according to the residents.

Chinese characters were found on the packaging or labels of the mostly plastic waste, such as sachets or bottles, Darlene Cay said in her report on "24 Oras Weekend" on Saturday.

“Mostly talaga basura ng China. Hindi na rin siguro nakapagtataka, dahil nakikita naman natin diba na may vessels sila dyan. Siguro tinatapon nila ang mga basura, dito talaga ang ano… sa coastal natin sa isla,” said Pag-asa Island coordinator Marilou Valles.

(Most of them are trash from China. I guess it’s not surprising anymore, because we can see they have vessels here. I guess they are throwing their trash, and it really [washes up] here… in the coastal areas of the island.)

Vessels from the China Navy, Coast Guard, and several militia vessels remain visible around the area.

“Siyempre nakakaapekto [yung basura sa] kalinisan ng dalampasigan. Wala tayong magagawa kung hindi magprograma na lang para tugunan ang mga problema,” Valles said.

(Of course, [the trash] affects the cleanliness of our shores. We can’t really do anything but implement a program to address the problem.)

Local residents and authorities said that they will continue to conduct cleanup activities to remove trash along their coasts.

In their most recent cleanup drive in September, they were able to gather 36 sacks of trash. 

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, including parts that are within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. 

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis." China has not recognized the decision. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News