Locsin won’t go to war over giant clams, but says China must pay

In this March 2014 photo, a Chinese boat can be seen scraping coral reef and giant clams inside the Scarborough Shoal. INQUIRER FILE

MANILA, Philippines — Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has said China must pay for the giant clams they took in Scarborough Shoal.

Locsin said what the Chinese harvested from Scarborough Shoal were “our food.”

“They should pay for them like in fish market,” Locsin said in a tweet on Tuesday night. 

A recent ABS-CBN News report indicated that Chinese fishermen have been poaching giant clams in Scarborough Shoal, which the Philippines claims to be part of its territory.

The foreign affairs secretary, however, said he would not go to war over giant clams.

“I am not going down in history as a clam defender, okay? It’s a complaint; we’re looking into it; but these are just f****** food; no one goes to war for clams (maybe Oysters of Locquemariaquer) but they just happen to be OUR food,” Locsin said. 

https://twitter.com/teddyboylocsin/status/1118164876642275329

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Tuesday said China’s harvesting of giant clams in Scarborough Shoal “is an affront to our territory and to our sovereignty,”

READ: China poaching of giant clams in Scarborough ‘affront’ to PH territory, sovereignty

Scarborough Shoal is a traditional fishing ground within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone that Beijing seized after a two-month standoff with the Philippine Navy in 2012.

Locsin said the government would be taking “legal action” against China’s actions. 

“We just caught them doing that recently, filed a diplomatic note, and will be taking legal action. With our legal department now,” Locsin said in another tweet. /kga