00:00 40 Chinese vessels were seen sailing near the Escoda Shoal,
00:05 a few nautical miles from Palawan.
00:07 The Philippine Coast Guard believes
00:09 that the Chinese could be preparing to build an artificial island
00:12 to fight off the dead corals near the island.
00:16 Jonathan Andan has the story.
00:18 In this video of the Philippine Coast Guard,
00:23 you can see some people sailing from the sea.
00:27 According to the PCG, these are Chinese divers
00:30 who are conducting marine assessments in the West Philippine Sea.
00:33 But the Coast Guard says that the Chinese researchers
00:36 are sailing near Palawan.
00:40 Three Chinese research vessels were seen sailing near the Escoda Shoal
00:44 which is part of the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone.
00:48 It is very alarming because
00:51 Escoda Shoal is just 75 nautical miles away from the coastline of Palawan.
00:57 It is that close now.
01:00 The PCG also surveyed the Escoda Shoal
01:02 and found dead and broken corals
01:05 that were found in the sunbars here.
01:07 According to the PCG,
01:09 this is an indication of a possible reclamation
01:11 or construction of an artificial island
01:13 that is closer to Palawan.
01:15 Because of this, the Coast Guard sent to Escoda Shoal
01:18 their largest ship, BRP Teresa Magbanua.
01:22 It has been there for 26 days since April 15,
01:25 the longest deployment of a PCG ship in the West Philippine Sea.
01:29 It is far from being stopped by China
01:30 by the spread of sunbars in Escoda Shoal
01:33 and they can see dead corals there.
01:37 If we don't monitor this,
01:42 maybe in the next few months,
01:43 we will be surprised to hear that
01:46 the islands here are already big enough.
01:51 The problem is that
01:53 there are already too many ships of China in Escoda Shoal.
01:56 34 Chinese militia,
01:57 4 Chinese Coast Guard
01:59 and there are also ships and helicopters of the Chinese Navy.
02:02 The question now is,
02:03 can our Coast Guard chase this?
02:06 Can they also catch those who are researching without a permit from the DFA?
02:10 Technically, the Philippine Coast Guard has the mandate to do that.
02:14 But by the time we reach the service boats of these marine scientists,
02:20 China will also deploy 5 rigid inflatable boats
02:24 to block the Philippine Coast Guard.
02:27 Violent response to counter them or to drive them away
02:32 is not part of our strategy.
02:35 But the Coast Guard thinks that
02:36 their surveillance of Escoda Shoal is effective
02:38 because dead corals are no longer standing on the sunbars there.
02:43 The Coast Guard also said that they will bring marine scientists
02:46 from UP and BFAR
02:47 to examine the sunbars of Escoda Shoal.
02:50 The PCG will not remove their biggest ship from Escoda Shoal.
02:54 For GMA Integrated News,
02:56 Jonathan Andal,
02:57 for 24 Hours.
02:59 We are still trying to get the permission of the Chinese Embassy.
03:03 Here are the good words of the Philippine Coast Guard.
03:06 To all the heart that continues to tune in to the news,
03:09 subscribe to GMA Integrated News on YouTube.
03:12 For all your heart abroad,
03:13 stay tuned on GMA Pinoy TV at www.gminews.tv.
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