A GROUP of fishermen from Zambales yesterday said none of its members who went to fish in the West Philippine Sea on Saturday has been arrested or detained by the Chinese.
China’s new policy against “trespassers” in the South China Sea, including parts of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, took effect on Saturday. It allows the Chinese Coast Guard to detain supposed intruders for up to 60 days.
China is claiming almost the entire South China Sea is also being claimed in part by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, aside from the Philippines.
Leonardo Cuaresma, president of the New Masinloc Fishermen Association (NMFA), said members of the group went to fish inside the country’s exclusive economic zone and went home without any problem.
He said at least 10 fishing boats went to the area on Saturday despite China’s new policy.
“Awa po ng Diyos ay nakauwi naman po sila ng mapayapa at wala naman pong ano mang nangyari. (By God’s grace, they returned home safely and without any incident),” he said in a radio interview.
Cuaresma said NMFA members did not see Chinese vessels as they stayed as far as 30 miles from Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal and Panatag Shoal, which is about 124 nautical miles from mainland Zambales.
Scarborough is within the West Philippine Sea, which is the part of the South China Sea that is being claimed by the Philippines.
Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels have maintained constant presence at the shoal since China gained control of it in 2012 after a standoff with Philippine government vessels.
“Nothing untoward happened to them,” Cuaresma said in Filipino.
Another group of fishermen in Zambales, the Tropical Fish and Gatherer Association (TFGA), said its members have avoided going near Scarborough Shoal.
TFGA president Joeffrey Elad, in another radio interview, said members are afraid they would be accosted and brought to China by the Chinese in line with the new policy.
Elad said TFGA members have decided to fish near mainland Zambales where there is led catch, compared to Scarborough Shoal.
Elad nevertheless said TFGA members are willing to return to Scarborough to fish if they will be escorted by Philippine Coast Guard or Philippine Navy vessels.
“If we are not going to return to Bajo de Masinloc, we may further lose the shoal,” he said in Filipino.
The Air Force said it continues to conduct patrols in the West Philippine Sea amid China’s policy.
In a radio interview, Air Force spokeswoman Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo could not immediately say if there was any untoward incident reported in line with China’s implementation of the new policy.
“From our end, the mandate of the Philippine Air Force is to conduct maritime patrol,” she said.
“The Philippine Air Force will just continue with its maritime patrol to ensure we will be able to monitor all activities both in the air and on the sea inside our exclusive economic zone as well as in our territorial waters,” she said.
Col. Xerxes Trinidad, chief of the AFP public affairs office, said, “I have not received any incidents so far.”
On Tuesday last week, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad said they hope China will not enforce the policy, saying that would be a “drastic escalation” of the tension in the area.
The Navy official said the Philippine Navy, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources have increased their presence in the area.
He also said the Philippine Navy has “contingency measures” in the event Filipinos will be arrested and detained by the Chinese. He however did not elaborate on these measures.
Senate majority leader Francis Tolentino is set to visit Masinloc town today to talk with fishermen about the Chinese policy.
He said the Masinloc fisherfolks are the ones most affected by this “questionable law.”
Tolentino is chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones, who is also the principal author and sponsor of Senate Bill No. 2492 or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act.
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año welcomed the opposition of the leaders of the Group of 7 (G7) to China’s aggressions in the South China Sea, saying this was an affirmation of upholding the rule of law in maritime disputes.
“We warmly welcome the recent statement from the G7 nations, delivered in Apulia, Italy expressing their serious concerns and strong opposition to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas by force or coercion,” said Año in a statement late Saturday.
The G7 is composed of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries have earlier separately supported the Philippines’ cause in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.
The G7 leaders, in a communiqué, expressed serious concern over the situation in the East and South China Seas as it reiterated its “strong opposition to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion.”
They also aired its continued opposition to China’s “dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia in the South China Sea and its repeated obstruction of countries’ high seas freedom of navigation.”
Año said, “The resolute stance of the G7 nations against the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia in the South China Sea, particularly the obstruction of high seas freedom of navigation, is a significant affirmation of the principles of international law and the rules-based international order.” — With Raymond Africa
