Mga pinsala sa Escoda Shoal, inilarawan ng mga eksperto bilang "Ecological Disaster";
China, ilang beses na nagsagawa ng diving sa ilang bahagi ng lugar ayon sa mga scientist
China, ilang beses na nagsagawa ng diving sa ilang bahagi ng lugar ayon sa mga scientist
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Scientists from the University of the Philippines are now investigating the coral reef found in Eskoda Shoal.
00:08 They also think that China has a plan in the area that is also based on their investigation.
00:13 Rod Laguzad has the details.
00:15 Ecological disaster.
00:20 That's what the experts from the University of the Philippines showed.
00:24 What they saw in Eskoda Shoal was done in a two-day survey.
00:28 Eskoda Shoal is only 71 nautical miles away from Palawan.
00:32 According to the group, they observed a wide-ranging bleaching in the coral reef there.
00:37 To the extent that what we saw, what we documented across all the area that we surveyed,
00:43 almost 100% of the corals were already dead.
00:46 And there were different stages of death.
00:49 The West Philippine Sea now is really in a very alarming and severely degraded state.
00:57 Scientists are now trying to find out the state of the area
01:00 based on the number of dead corals there.
01:03 Dr. Fernando Seringan from the UP Marine Science Institute explained
01:08 the implications of what is called bleaching.
01:10 Bleaching is due to the natural color of the coral.
01:16 Due to the heat of the water, the coral is having a hard time.
01:22 That's why it's having a stressed response.
01:27 There are many colors, but those colors are not their natural color.
01:32 They are now flourishing.
01:34 And in a few days, they can turn white.
01:38 At first glance, the coral can be seen in different colors.
01:42 When it comes to marine biodiversity, when the coral is affected,
01:46 it means that the fish population will decrease.
01:49 And because of this, they can become scarce.
01:52 This is the situation here in Escoda Shoal.
01:54 As you can see, the various ships of China are surrounded
01:58 including this China Coast Guard here in BRP Teresa Magbanoa
02:01 which was first sent by the Philippine Coast Guard to guard.
02:05 Based on the data obtained by the UP,
02:08 it appears that China is conducting many diving activities in some parts of the area.
02:13 We saw some sampling pits.
02:17 They took samples to look at the materials not of the corals,
02:23 but of the dead ones.
02:26 The Coast Guard also documented the movement of this research vessel.
02:31 That suggests that they have done acoustic surveys.
02:35 Likely, detailed mapping of the sea floor.
02:40 In the end, based on their assessment,
02:42 it's possible that China has a plan in Escoda Shoal.
02:44 Rod Laguzad for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.