China has said that coral reef damage around the contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea was caused largely by military activities, including live-fire drills and aircraft exercises conducted in nearby waters. According to an ecological assessment released by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources and reported by state media, repeated bomb-dropping exercises and other high-intensity operations disturbed seabed structures and harmed fragile coral ecosystems. The report also cited illegal fishing and frequent vessel movements as additional pressures on the marine environment. Scarborough Shoal remains a strategically sensitive area claimed by both China and the Philippines, with Beijing exercising de facto control.
The findings come amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea, where environmental protection is increasingly entangled with territorial disputes. The Philippines has previously criticised China’s actions in the area, arguing that environmental justifications are being used to strengthen territorial claims. Independent verification of the report’s conclusions has not been possible, but marine experts warn that sustained military activity—by any party—in ecologically sensitive zones poses long-term risks to coral reefs, fisheries, and regional marine biodiversity. More