Chinese poachers are making “thousands of dollars” by extracting clams in the Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea and selling them, a US think tank expert said. But such a lucrative business has also destroyed the resource-rich waters’ marine environment and could cost coastal communities their livelihoods.

Following his previous remarks that China should pay for the giant clams they harvested from Scarborough Shoal, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. claimed that the Philippines was not aware of the existence of the clams.

The Philippines and China should not go to war over clams, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said, following a report on China’s poaching of giant clams in the Scarborough or "Panatag" Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

Majority of Filipinos were in favor of the suit filed by two former Philippine officials against Chinese President Xi Jinping before the International Criminal Court over his country’s actions in the South China Sea, a new opinion poll suggests.

The Duterte administration has recently been releasing stronger statements on Beijing's recent actions in the West Philippine Sea.