Palace: Coast guard still verifying Chinese aggression vs PH fishermen in Panatag shoal

UPDATE: Gov’t confirms Chinese vessel drove away PH fishermen from Panatag Shoal

Is it another case of harassment on the part of China? The government is not yet sure.

“We are still in the process of verifying and ascertaining the details of any such incident,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. told reporters on Monday.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that a Chinese coast guard vessel drove away around 80 Filipino fishermen from Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) last April 9. The fishermen said one of their companions fell off a boat and was hurt after they were hit by a water cannon.

READ: Chinese shoo away Filipino fishermen’s boats

Coloma said he contacted the Philippine Coast Guard, which said it has yet to get official confirmation of the incident from its field operatives.

Nevertheless, Coloma said the government is working hard to “improve the capacity” of the Philippine Navy and the Coast Guard when it comes to maritime domain awareness. He said it should enable government forces to immediately monitor and attend to such incidents in order to protect Filipino fishermen.

The Secretary explained that despite improvements introduced by the Aquino administration, government facilities are still not enough to cover the long coastline of the Philippines.

Coloma said the government will continue to pursue a peaceful and diplomatic approach on the territorial disputes with China in the West Philippine Sea.