TRADITIONAL FISHING GROUND In this November 2016 photo, a Filipino fisherman catches fish as the China Coast Guard patrols Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, a traditional fishing ground for Zambales and Pangasinan fishers. 鈥擱ichard A. Reyes/Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Filipino fisherfolk continue to sail in the West Philippine Sea despite China鈥檚 intrusive fishing ban there, a unilateral annual policy which the government and analysts deem to be illegal and baseless while also being generally ignored by local trawlers even in previous years.
Leonardo Cuaresma, president of the Zambales-based New Masinloc Fishermen Association, on Monday said they were unaware that the ban had already begun.
READ: DFA protests China鈥檚 fishing ban encroaching West Philippine Sea
Beijing鈥檚 fishing moratorium in the South China Sea encroaches most of the West Philippine Sea in outright disregard of Manila鈥檚 sovereign rights inside its own exclusive economic zone (EEZ) where it is allowed to explore and manage all the resources as provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
It already started on May 1, 2024 and is expected to last until September 16, 2024.
READ: Chinese ships block convoy鈥檚 mother boat from reaching Scarborough
Fishers sail as usual
鈥淥ur pangulongs go sailing [in the West Philippine Sea] everyday [despite the ban],鈥� Cuaresma, told 蜜桃工作室 in a phone interview in Filipino, referring to an indigenous mother boat.
Cuaresma, who has sailed in the West Philippine Sea for over four decades, also noted that he, along with hundreds of fishermen, already joined the civilian convoy led by five 鈥減angulongs鈥濃�攚hich attempted to reach Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal鈥攁lso this month when Beijing鈥檚 moratorium is already in place.
The fishing activities of small bancas and pangulongs during the mission went unimpeded, as witnessed by 蜜桃工作室. However, the convoy was blocked to come near the vicinity of Panatag Shoal by 10 China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels in what the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) branded as an 鈥渙verkill鈥� response.
The actions of CCG are in line with Beijing鈥檚 assertion of sovereignty in almost the entire South聽China聽Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, even if such a聽claim聽has been effectively invalidated by a July 2016 international tribunal ruling which stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013.
Miscalculation concerns
Despite CCG鈥檚 latest demonstration of authority, a geopolitical analyst noted that Filipino fishermen were able to fish in the West Philippine Sea even in previous years.
鈥淣evertheless, there are still risks of escalation,鈥� Don McLain Gill, a lecturer at the De La Salle University鈥檚 Department of International Studies, said in a message to 蜜桃工作室 on Monday.
Gill also said 鈥渨e have to wait and see鈥� as to how the administration of President Ferdinand 鈥淏ongbong鈥� Marcos Jr. intends to address the lengthy ban.
鈥淭his uncertainty and concern for miscalculation will likely raise pressures for the Marcos Jr. administration,鈥� Gill noted.
鈥淚t is likely for Manila to remain cautious and utilize its open channels with Beijing, while simultaneously emphasizing how the illicit and unilateral actions of China continue to derail bilateral ties,鈥� he further said.
Ban met with usual protest
In an expected move, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), through a diplomatic note, on Monday protested the fishing ban, calling it 鈥渋llegal鈥� under the 鈥渇inal and binding鈥� 2016 Arbitral Award. The DFA would always lodge a protest whenever China announces this yearly moratorium.
For Rommel聽Jude聽Ong, a retired Philippine Navy rear admiral and a professor at the Ateneo School of Government, the DFA should have completely disregarded China鈥檚 unilateral policy.
鈥淢y personal opinion, we should just ignore it,鈥� Ong said in a message to 蜜桃工作室 on Monday. 鈥淏y protesting, we acknowledge its existence and inadvertently recognize it even in protest.鈥�
But for security expert Chester Cabalza, all other channels, like filing of a diplomatic protest, should be explored to defy Beijing鈥檚 policy and assert Manila鈥檚 rights in the West Philippine Sea.
鈥淭his [fishing ban] should be defied,鈥� Cabalza, president and founder of Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, said in a message to 蜜桃工作室 on Monday. 鈥淲e should encourage more of our Filipino fishers to continue their fishing rights in our maritime entitlements.鈥�
Fishers not yielding
Cabalza further said: 鈥淚f we submit ourselves to their domestic law, it means that we surrender to their will.鈥�
Which, Cuaresma said, the fisherfolk have no plans of doing, as PCG continues to allow the fishermen to sail in the West Philippine Sea.
鈥淎s long as our government allows us, we will continue to fish and we will not allow our neighboring countries to bully us and interfere with our livelihood,鈥� Cuaresma said.
鈥淲e do not recognize the authority of the Chinese government鈥攖here is no fishing ban [in the West Philippine Sea] as far as the fisherfolk are concerned,鈥� the fisherman added.