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A fisherman took advantage of a stand-off between BFAR’s BRP Datu Bankaw and China Coast Guard ship 3105 near the entrance of Scarborough Shoal and attempted to enter the shoal.
According to the 2016 decision on the Philippines’ arbitration case against China’s nine-dash line in the South China Sea, China had failed to respect traditional fishing rights in Bajo de Masinloc by barring access to it.
The Coast Guard said BRP Datu Bankaw distributed grocery items and fuel subsidies to around 50 Filipino fishing boats in the area.
This, however, was met by Chinese Coast Guard vessel CCG-2105 with “a series of 15 radio challenges in an attempt to drive away the BFAR vessel.”
China on Monday said it installed floating barriers in Scarborough Shoal to prevent a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel from trespassing into the Scarborough Shoal.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the Philippine vessel entered the disputed shoal, referred as Huangyan Island by the Chinese and Bajo de Masinloc by Filipinos, without permission.
“On September 22, without China’s permission, a ship of the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, trespassed into the waters near Huangyan Island, and attempted to intrude into the lagoon of Huangyan Island,” Wang said in Beijing.
“China’s coast guard took the necessary measures to stop and warn off the ship in accordance with the law, which was professional and with restraint.”
An arbitral tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, which invalidated China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea, ruled that no country can claim sovereign rights over the shoal, saying it is a traditional fishing ground for Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese fishermen.
It also ruled that Beijing violated the rights of Filipinos, who were blocked by Chinese Coast Guard from fishing in the disputed shoal off northwestern Philippines.
China has refused to recognize the ruling.
Wang insisted that the shoal, “is China’s inherent territory” – a claim rejected by Manila.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Island and its adjacent waters and sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the relevant waters,” Wang said.
For Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, China has no right to put up barriers in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone, as these may pose harm to passing boats.
“First of all they have no right to put any structures within our Exclusive Economic Zone and secondly, these structures pose a danger on passing fishing boats that can get entangled on the lines and cause considerable damage to the propellers and engines of our fisherfolk,” he said.
He also requested the PCG to remove the “illegal structures” on the West Philippine Sea “not just to assert our sovereign rights to the area but to protect our fishermen from any possible accidents that may arise.”
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