Manila, July 14 -- Coral reefs in Pag-asa Reef 1 have sustained environmental damage due to the grounding of a Chinese ship there last month, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said Monday.

In a statement expressing concern over the incident, NTF-WPS said the Chinese vessel with bow number 16868 remained grounded in the area for nearly three hours before it managed to free itself without assistance.

"It was later accompanied out of the area by the China Coast Guard (CCG) and two other Chinese vessels," NTF-WPS said.

"While it did not run aground directly on the coral reef, the vessel's anchoring activity caused significant damage to the surrounding reef area."

Reef 1 lies 2.6 km. east of Pag-asa Island.

NTF...