MANILA — The Coast Guard on Sunday rejected China’s claim that the Philippines is creating drama over the destruction of corals in parts of the West Philippine Sea, calling the harvesting and dumping of corals at Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal a serious crime.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson earlier in the week accused Manila of “creating a political drama from fiction” over the corals and said it should remove the grounded BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal to protect the marine ecosystem in the area.

Read More –>Coast Guard: West Philippine Sea coral damage not drama, a serious crime