Tests confirm bottles of cyanide in Chinese boats in WPS

MANILA, Philippines — Laboratory tests confirmed that several bottles containing cyanide were recovered by the Philippine Navy from Chinese boats operating near BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal last year, the National Security Council (NSC) said on Monday.

Citing cyanide’s potential damage to the West Philippine Sea’s (WPS) environment and its impact on military troops as well as local fisherfolk, the NSC said that, if proven to be intentional, its usage could constitute a violation of international law.

READ: Bottles of ‘cyanide’ seized from Chinese fishers

“If the reef is severely damaged, it not only threatens [the BRP Sierra Madre’s] stability, it also allows Beijing to fabricate an environmental crisis which it can then blame on the Philippines.

It has in the past accused [the BRP Sierra Madre] of polluting the shoal in an effort to distract from its own illegal activities,” it added. —JASON SIGALES