Senator wants to stop China’s island-building activities at sea

A Philippine senator on Monday filed a resolution seeking legal and diplomatic approaches to force China to stop its “destructive” reclamation activities in the South China Sea. Senator Risa N. Hontiveros-Baraquel also said the government should force China to pay the Philippines P200 billion for damages on reefs within its territory in the past six years. “China’s sense of entitlement to our seas has caused severe and irreparable harm to our ecosystems,” Ms. Baraquel said in a statement. She estimated damages caused by China’s reclamation activities at P33 billion a year, assuming the value per hectare of a coral reef is $353,429 based on a 2012 study by Ecosystem Services.