The Philippines has accused China of the “deliberate use of cyanide” to poison the waters of shoals near the disputed South China Sea after tests confirmed the presence of the highly toxic substance found in bottles seized from Chinese vessels.
The Philippines’ National Security Council, which is the principal forum for considering national security and foreign policy matters, said on Tuesday the laboratory analysis of bottles seized from Chinese fishing vessels last year from the Ayungin shoal of the South China Sea showed they contained cyanide.
China dismissed the allegations as a “farce” and accused Manila of seizing fishermen’s daily necessities.
The two countries remain locked in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, a resource-rich waterway and major trade route claimed by Beijing in its entirety despite competing claims from five other countries in the region.
The council had been investigating the case after the Philippines military seized 10 bottles of the lethal substance from the flat-bottomed, wooden sampan boats allegedly launched from Chinese fishing vessels in February, July and October last year near the highly contested Spratly Islands.
Philippine navy spokesperson, Rear Adm Roy Vincent Trinidad, said military personnel found another Chinese sampan crew poisoning waters near the shoal last month, and that samples later tested positive for cyanide.
“Laboratory analysis conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)’s Forensic and Scientific Research Service has conclusively established that the yellow bottles seized from the sampans contain cyanide, a highly toxic chemical known to cause severe and irreversible damage to humans and marine ecosystems,” NSC spokesperson, assistant director general Cornelio Valencia Jr, said in a statement.
He said the use of cyanide in Ayungin Shoal is a form of “sabotage” that seeks to kill local fish populations, depriving military personnel of a vital food source.
In a separate press briefing on Monday, he said the alleged poisoning not only posed a risk to the military personnel who ate contaminated fish or used water, but could damage the coral reefs that help support the vessel’s structural foundations.
He said the Philippines authorities raised the case with Chinese counterparts at a recent meeting, but they did not receive a formal response. The NSC would submit a report to the foreign ministry that could form the basis of a diplomatic protest with the Chinese side, he said.
Mr Valencia Jr said the NSC has directed the Philippines forces and coast guard to strengthen patrols and take necessary measures to prevent further environmental harm.
“Let it be clear: the Philippines will not tolerate any act – whether by state or non-state actors – that endangers its personnel or the marine environment, violates its sovereign rights, or undermines peace and stability in the West Philippine Sea (WPS),” he said.
“The government remains resolute in defending the nation’s territory, protecting its natural resources, and upholding the rule of law,” he said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, accused Manila of causing environmental harm to the reefs by “illegally grounding its vessel” on Ren’ai Jiao, a submerged reef in Second Thomas Shoal.
“The Philippine side illegally harassed the Chinese fishing boats conducting normal fishing, grabbed the fishermen’s living supplies, and staged this so-called cyanide stunt. There is no credibility whatsoever to their story,” Mr Guo added.
The Philippines has accused China of disrupting resupply missions to troops on the vessel and has been embroiled in confrontation, including 17 June 2024 incident, during which Chinese personnel armed with axes, knives and spears boarded the Philippines vessels after high-speed, aggressive maneuvers. The confrontation resulted in a Filipino sailor losing a finger.
