Overview
- Philippine security officials said Monday that National Bureau of Investigation tests confirmed cyanide in yellow bottles seized near the disputed reef in 2025.
- Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said sailors took 10 bottles from small wooden sampans launched from Chinese fishing vessels in February, July, and October 2025, and troops reported a fresh poisoning attempt last month with water samples later testing positive.
- National Security Council spokesperson Cornelio Valencia Jr called the acts sabotage designed to kill fish and warned the toxin could erode coral that supports the grounded BRP Sierra Madre outpost.
- Beijing rejected the claim as a staged stunt by Manila and said Chinese boats were fishing normally, while the Philippine military on Tuesday dismissed China’s accusation as fabricated.
- Manila said it will submit a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs for a possible diplomatic protest and will step up patrols, in a dispute that includes a 2016 Hague ruling placing the shoal in the Philippine exclusive economic zone that China rejects.