Disputes in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have long posed a challenge to the Philippines, with tensions spanning several decades. These can be traced back to the 40s, however, what escalated this dilemma were the 1995 Mischief Reef incident and the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff. While the geopolitical conflict over which country has a claim has been widely discussed, what is often overlooked is the detrimental effect military activity has had on the area’s local ecosystem.
A treasure in the hands of destruction
The West Philippine Sea forms part of the Coral Triangle, a world-recognized center for marine biodiversity that houses a high concentration of coral reefs, along with diverse species of marine invertebrates and mammals. Although its significance in the global stage is well-established, the WPS still faces the toils of global politics and the greed of human consumption. Vital marine zones have been repurposed for their potential oil reserves and rich fishing grounds.
An area treasured for both its biodiversity and economic significance is the Kalayaan Island Group, known internationally as the Spratly Islands. Though it is the country’s smallest municipality, Kalayaan accounts for at least 27 percent of the Philippines’ commercial fisheries production. The archipelago is also a major waterway used for international trade. Given its combined geopolitical, economic, and military potential, it is expected that neighboring countries, like China, would attempt to assume ownership of this region.
Since 2013, China has dredged and reclaimed 3,200 acres of land in the Kalayaan Islands, as well as in the Paracel Islands off the coast of Vietnam and the Panatag Shoal near Zambales. These artificial military islands have destroyed benthic ecosystems—altering hydrological flow and increasing sedimentation, which blocks sunlight and suffocates marine life. Moreover, the wastes from both the islands and military ships that traverse these waters contribute to pollution, worsening the already dire condition of the area.
In addition to the artificial islands, China also conducts military activities, such as missile launches and underwater bomb detonations, that can eradicate countless marine life within a large radius. Moreover, the noise from these activities and sonar technologies interferes with the communication and navigation of sea life, especially sound-dependent marine mammals like dolphins and whales, leading to disorientation, confusion, and even death. Increased vessel traffic and naval presence from the military can pollute and destroy seabed habitats because of the vessels’ anchors and propellers. Furthermore, these military bases emit large amounts of carbon as they consume a lot of fossil fuel energy.
The overall pollution and destruction of marine ecosystems here not only reduce biodiversity but also worsen climate change, compromising an area already vulnerable to the phenomenon.
The guardians under attack
Behind every destroyed coral reef lies a person who has lost their livelihood and community. According to the Maritime Fairtrade, China’s militarization of the WPS affects 1.8 million coastal Filipinos, and as traditional fishing grounds become inaccessible and fish populations continue to decline, Filipino fisherfolk are left to face economic displacement. The Philippine Statistics Authority’s latest Fisheries Situationer reports that marine municipal fisheries production dropped by 13.1 percent in 2024, with those most dependent on WPS waters particularly affected.
Local fishing communities, who have depended on these waters for generations, are being displaced not just by military activities, but more so by the environmental degradation that comes with them. The traditional ecological knowledge accumulated over centuries is slowly being lost as the ecosystems themselves perish.
This environmental destruction also puts environmental defenders at risk, facing harassment, intimidation, and worse. Militarization of these contested waters hampers scientific research and environmental monitoring, resulting in a research blackout that enables destruction to continue unchecked.
Healthy marine ecosystems function as natural buffers that absorb the kinetic energy of typhoon winds and storm surges, and oceans serve as natural shields, protecting millions of coastal Filipinos. The loss of marine biodiversity in the West Philippine Sea weakens the area’s resilience to climate change, making coastal communities more vulnerable to environmental disasters like rising sea levels and intense typhoons.
Securing peace through protection
The marine ecosystems of the West Philippine Sea belong not just to the Philippines or any claiming nation, but to the global biosphere. Environmental protection should go beyond territorial disputes, since humanity depends on these healthy oceans for climate stability, food security, and the conservation of marine biodiversity.
In 2019, the UP Marine Science Institute called on the public to “be part of a movement for responsible stewardship not only for the WPS, but all the seas around the country,” emphasizing that conservation efforts require both scientific engagement and collective undertaking.
Most urgently, the global community must recognize that environmental destruction in the name of territorial control represents a form of warfare that threatens not just the concerned parties’ stability, but the planet’s environmental security. International bodies must develop systems to penalize the disregard for environmental protection in disputed waters, treating ecological destruction as grounds for intervention regardless of territorial claims. While scientific research provides the foundation to understand these threats, political will is needed to support their work, act on their findings, and mobilize communities to protect what remains of these invaluable marine environments.
As tensions continue to flare in these contested waters, the silent victims beneath the waves deserve our attention and protection. The true cost of geopolitical conflict in the WPS is measured not just in collateral damage or military expense, but in the irreplaceable marine ecosystems being sacrificed in the name of territorial expansion. The time has come for us to recognize environmental protection as the foundation of regional security, because in the end, what good are these territorial disputes over a dead sea?
