Filipino fishermen told: Don’t be intimidated by Chinese actions

MANILA, Philippines–Fishermen in Scarborough Shoal, a Philippine territory off Zambales that is claimed by China, must not be intimidated if Chinese coast guard boats try to drive them away, a military official said Monday.

“What is important is for fishermen to continue what they are doing such as fishing. They cannot be intimidated by the actions of the Chinese coast guard,” Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala, Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Affairs Office chief, told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo.

“I believe the Chinese coast guard attempted only (to drive them away) and they were not successful,” he said.

Zagala did not elaborate further when asked how the fishermen are supposed to handle the Chinese in such situations.

On Monday, AFP Chief General Emmanuel Bautista said in a forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines that Chinese coast guard vessels tried to drive away Filipino fishermen in Scarborough Shoal (locally known as Panatag Shoal) using water cannons last Jan. 27.

“They are just doing their livelihood, why would they fire [those water cannons]. Why do you have to assert yourself that way?” Zagala said.

The supposed “freedom of navigation” is “being compromised” by “[acts of] harassment by Chinese vessels.”

“There is already a threat to freedom of navigation when it comes to what’s going on in our territorial waters… It’s very important to [be able] to do economic activities like fishing,” Zagala said.

The Scarborough Shoal is 124 nautical miles off Zambales, which is well within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

In 2012, a standoff in the shoal between the Philippines and China sparked tensions after the Philippine Navy caught Chinese fishermen with illegally collected endangered corals, giant clams and live sharks. The Philippines chose to resolve the issue through diplomatic means before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.