Hundreds of Chinese maritime militia ships are still scattered across the West Philippine Sea (WPS), and yet here comes another China intrusion — its annual “fishing ban” in the South China Sea that threatens areas within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The fishing ban, which China’s agriculture and rural affairs ministry announced would be in effect from May 1 to Aug. 16, affects waters north of the 12th parallel, including waters west of Palawan’s Busuanga Island all the way north of Panatag (Scarborough Shoal) or Bajo de Masinloc. As well, the ban covers two of 12 Philippine fishing management areas designated by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), which include waters surrounding the provinces of Antique, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, and Batangas.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has filed a protest, stressing that “China’s annual fishing moratorium extends far beyond China’s legitimate maritime entitlements under Unclos and is without basis under international law. China cannot legally impose nor legally enforce such a moratorium in the West Philippine Sea.”
The ban, which is not limited to Chinese vessels, plainly violates Philippine sovereign rights affirmed in the July 2016 Arbitral Award won by the Philippines, as well as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). As the DFA pointed out, per paragraph 716 of the Arbitral Award, the prohibition breached Article 56 of the 1982 Unclos “with respect to the Philippines’ sovereign rights over the living resources of its EEZ.’’
The ban now comes with a heightened sense of danger after China passed a law last February authorizing the Chinese Coast Guard to fire on foreign vessels, demolish other countries’ structures on China-claimed islands and reefs, and set up exclusion zones. This new law effectively grants the Chinese Coast Guard freedom and authority to use force within what it considers its maritime jurisdiction, said Ivy Banzon Abalos, DFA spokesperson. “This can curtail and put at risk the legitimate rights of Filipino fishermen to fish in Philippine territorial waters and EEZ.”
The Coast Guard law and the fishing ban represent a double whammy for Filipino fishermen, who have already been driven away from their traditional fishing grounds by the intimidating Chinese presence. “There is actually an indefinite and undeclared fishing ban in nearly the entire South China Sea courtesy of the continued presence of Chinese vessels that create intimidation among Filipino fishers,’’ said Bobby Roldan, vice chair of the fishermen’s group Pamalakaya. Thus, the ban “deserves defiance both from Filipino fishers as well as fisherfolk from other claimant countries in the South China Sea.’’
Fishermen and conservation groups have also warned that the fishing ban would affect the fish supply in the provinces around the covered waters, and even Metro Manila. Asis Perez, convener of Tugon Kabuhayan and former BFAR chief, noted that about 70 percent of round scad (galunggong) catch in Palawan goes to Metro Manila, the capital’s tuna supply comes from Mindoro, and other fish species are sourced from waters off Zambales and Ilocos.
Rightly so, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea has, like the DFA, firmly opposed China’s action. It has encouraged Filipino fishermen to continue fishing in Philippine waters, saying the China ban “does not apply to our fishermen.’’
Citizens rendered outraged and bewildered by the cascade of wildly contradictory signals and statements from Malacañang over China’s muscle-flexing in the WPS can only hope that the firmness and resolve being shown at present would be sustained and amplified, and not undermined yet again by ill-considered statements from the President and his lieutenants. The deplorable rhetoric of the highest Philippine officials in recent weeks, belittling the Arbitral Award and putting the blame on previous administrations instead of China for its seizure of Philippine reefs and continued encroachment into the country’s waters, could only be of benefit and comfort to the officialdom in Beijing, who must be beside themselves with glee at the lawyering being done for them by no less than the likes of Palace mouthpiece Harry Roque.
The Philippines, through the DFA, and supported by countries such as the United States, Japan, Australia, and European nations that have cited the landmark Arbitral Award as the basis for any legitimate, rules-based consensus on the South China Sea, is well within its rights to demand that China “desist from any action and activity that infringes on Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, in contravention of international law.” Its fishing ban is baseless and illegal, and should be defied and ignored.