Filipino patience running out over China’s latest incursion

Over the years, there have been numerous incidents of harassment and intimidation by the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) against Philippine vessels, like last Dec. 17 when CCG vessel 5205 sailed dangerously close to a boat delivering food, noche buena packages and other supplies to troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

This latest incident at Ayungin Shoal where this same Chinese Coast Guard vessel 5205 shadowed and pointed a military-grade laser at the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) patrol vessel BRP Malapascua – resulting in temporary blindness for some Philippine crew – is causing more and more Filipinos to become increasingly angry at the way the Chinese have been encroaching into our territory.

What is worse is that the Chinese are now claiming the area as theirs, with the China Foreign Ministry spokesperson saying it was the PCG vessel that did not have permission and “intruded” into the waters when in fact, Ayungin Shoal is located about 105 nautical miles off Palawan and is therefore clearly well within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines.

As Congressman Rufus Rodriguez said, “How can we intrude into our own territory?”

Members of the international community have also expressed their concern in light of this in-your-face kind of aggression and intimidation being demonstrated by China, among them the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and Denmark, calling out China for its dangerous and provocative actions.

Canada described China’s actions as “coercive” and a “violation of international law and contrary to the maintenance of regional peace and stability, and the rules-based international order,” while both Germany and Denmark also called on China to abide by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award by the Permanent Court of Arbitration which is “legal and binding.”

A friend from the diplomatic corps told me that China’s actions are “getting more and more unconscionable and provocative,” even preposterously accusing the US of orchestrating the arbitral case. Absolutely not true – it was China’s aggression that precipitated our decision to file the case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated China’s expansive maritime claims, including its ridiculous nine-dash-line with absolutely no basis whatsoever in international law.

Filipinos were extremely pleased when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. summoned the Chinese ambassador over this latest incident involving a Chinese Coast Guard vessel. From what I am told, the President was cordial, but at the same time was very firm and clear in expressing his serious concern over the “increasing frequency of action by China against the Philippine Coast Guard and Filipino fishermen in their bancas.”

Filipino fishermen have long been suffering from the intimidation and restrictive actions employed by Chinese vessels which are depriving them of their livelihood, with reports that they were being threatened or their fishing gear confiscated. Numerous protests have also been filed over the illegal fishing activities of Chinese vessels in disputed territories in the South China Sea, with other claimant nations like Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia complaining about Chinese fishing fleets encroaching on their maritime territories.

In fact, there are calls for the European Union to impose sanctions on Chinese fishing vessels over alleged illegal fishing activities. An independent study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries (PECH) last December on the “Role and impact of China on world fisheries and aquaculture” showed that the large number of Chinese distant water fleets that go dark by using techniques like turning off their identification system, increase the possibility of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing infractions.

According to the study, “One of the most important environmental consequences of the Chinese fishing fleet on the EU’s distant-water fishing activities is the depletion of fisheries stocks, which is associated with environmental degradation and results in reduced resource availability for all actors involved.”

During the visit of US Vice President Kamala Harris to the fishing community of Tagburos in Palawan last November, she spoke about the risk that fishing communities face “when foreign vessels enter Philippine waters and illegally deplete the fishing stock; when they harass and intimidate local fishers; when they pollute the ocean and destroy the marine ecosystem.”

If one can recall, over 200 Chinese fishing vessels were seen at Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef) in March 2021 with reports that they have been anchored in the area since December 2020, raising fears of “possible overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to safety of navigation” in the West Philippine Sea.

Given these numerous incidents in the past, no one can really blame Filipinos for the continued and increasing anger at and distrust of China. This latest incident has also prompted many enlightened legislators to consider working together with other countries aside from the United States to maintain maritime peace and security in the region.

Certainly, we cannot and must not “drop the ball” on this one like what happened in 2012 when we “lost” the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

I have often said – Filipinos are a patient people, and while everybody wants a peaceful resolution to all these incidents that have been repeatedly happening over the years, it is clear to all of us that “what is ours is ours,” period. We are not claiming anything outside of what is clearly within our territorial waters.

As President Marcos had said: “We have no conflict with China; the issue we have is that China is claiming territory that belongs to us.”