Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea. INQUIRER.net file photo / Arnel Tacson
There is no “provisional arrangement” between the Philippines and China to allow Filipino fishermen to fish at Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official said on Thursday.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, the PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, disputed the claim of Chinese state-run Global Times that Beijing made a ‘special arrangement’ for Filipinos to fish at the shoal, adding that the arbitral tribunal in The Hague, which invalidated the Chinese government’s sweeping claims to the South China Sea, had ruled that China indeed violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights in Bajo de Masinloc. “Although China neither accepts nor recognizes the South China Sea Arbitration, in 2016, China made a special arrangement for the Philippines’ fishermen to maintain their small-scale artisanal fishing activities around Huangyan Dao under humanitarian considerations,” the Global Times said. China refers to Scarborough Shoal as Huangyan Dao.
Traditional fishing ground
While the 2016 arbitral ruling did mention that the shoal was a traditional fishing ground of Filipinos, Vietnamese and Chinese, it also expressly said that Bajo de Masinloc was well within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.
China, however, took control of the shoal in 2012 after a standoff with the Philippine Navy.“It is important to highlight that there is no provisional arrangement between China and the Philippines,” Tarriela said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Filipino fishermen have historically fished peacefully in the area even before the establishment of the Chinese coast guard,” he added.
He pointed out that Filipino fishing vessels at Scarborough “[were] not like the Chinese maritime militia, disguised as ordinary fishermen, who support the bullying and provocation of the China Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea.”
He said the guidance of President Marcos “is very clear—that is to support the welfare of our ordinary Filipino fishermen because this is their livelihood.”