MANILA, Philippines (AP)– Swarms of Chinese vessels have discarded human waste and wastewater for several years in a disputed location of the South China Sea, causing algae flowers that have harmed coral reefs and threatened fish in an unfolding catastrophe, a U.S.-based professional said Monday.Satellite images over the last five years show how human waste, sewage and wastewater have built up and caused algae in a cluster of reefs in the Spratlys region where hundreds of Chinese fishing ships have anchored in batches, said Liz Derr, who heads Simularity Inc., a software company developing expert system technologies for satellite imagery analysis.At least 236 ships were found in the atoll, worldwide called Union Banks, on June 17 alone, she stated at a Philippine online news forum on Chinas actions in the South China Sea, which Beijing has actually declared practically in its totality.”When the ships dont move, the poop accumulate,” Derr stated. “The hundreds of ships that are anchored in the Spratlys are disposing raw sewage onto the reefs they are occupying.”Chinese authorities did not right away react to Derrs evaluation of the environmental damage, however have actually stated in the past that they have taken steps to safeguard the fisheries stock and the environment in the South China Sea. Aside from the Chinese, Vietnamese forces have actually also occupied some coral outcrops in Union Banks, which is also claimed by the Philippines, although it has no existence in the vast atoll.Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Eduardo Menez in Manila said the findings would need to be examined and confirmed by Philippine authorities before a choice on whether to lodge a protest versus China could be made.”This is a catastrophe of epic proportions and we are close to the climax,” Derr said.She cautioned that schools of fish, consisting of migratory tuna, type in the reefs that are being damaged and might cause fish stocks to considerably decrease in an offshore area that is an essential local food source.Story continuesSeparately, Chinas military said it went after a U.S. warship out of another contested area of the South China Sea on Monday after Washington cautioned an attack on the Philippines might trigger a shared defense treaty.Beijing verified its claims to portions of the sea that also are declared by Southeast Asia federal governments. It declined the Biden administrations declaration of assistance Sunday for an 2016 global tribunal ruling in favor of the Philippines that tossed out the majority of them.China is significantly assertive about pressing its territorial claims, which are fueling tension with next-door neighbors including Japan, India, Vietnam and the Philippines.Chinas Peoples Liberation Army stated it sent ships and planes after the U.S.S. Benfold got in waters claimed by Beijing around the Paracel Islands.In March, Philippine authorities identified more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels at Whitsun Reef, in the northeastern periphery of Union Banks, and required that China withdraw them from the area. China neglected the need for weeks, while continuing to assert the reef is its own territory.The Philippines argued that Whitsun Reef lies well within a worldwide acknowledged stretch of waters where it has special rights to make use of fisheries, oil, gas and other sea resources. It pointed out the global tribunals 2016 ruling that revoked Chinas large claims to the waterway on historical premises and unanimously maintained the Philippines sovereign rights to the so-called unique financial zone.A couple of hundred protesters held a loud rally Monday in front of the Chinese Consulate in Manila to mark the fifth anniversary of the ruling, which China overlooked and continues to defy. The protesters lashed out at President Rodrigo Duterte, who has nurtured closer ties with Beijing, for refusing to aggressively demand that China abide by the landmark ruling. ___ Associated Press reporters Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila added to this report.