Chinese fishing vessels are going scorched earth and pumping cyanide into contested waters, Philippine fishing authority says

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"These Chinese fishermen use cyanide," Nazario Briguera, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, said on Saturday, per a translation from Filipino by The Philippine Star.

It's widely condemned because it indiscriminately affects most marine species in the area, causes severe damage to aquatic ecosystems, and can make fish harmful to handle or eat.

"We don't have any scientific study or any evidence that would suggest that cyanide fishing in Bajo de Masinloc can be attributed to the Chinese or the Vietnamese fishermen," GMA News quoted a coast-guard spokesperson, Commodore Jay Tarriela, as saying.

In 2023, a study from the Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation in Cebu, the Philippines, found that some Filipino fishermen still used cyanide in the South China Sea.

In response to the accusations, the Chinese state-linked tabloid The Global Times wrote that the Philippines had "groundlessly smeared" China over its cyanide claims.

Beijing has since patrolled the region with warships and coast-guard vessels, establishing de facto control of the atoll and often chasing out Philippine fishermen.

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