Filipinos: China still harassing fishermen

MANILA, Philippines — China’s coast guard has continued to seize the catches of Filipino fishermen at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea despite a protest by the Philippines after an earlier incident, two officials said Friday.

The Philippines expressed concern to China in a meeting in Manila in February after receiving a report of Chinese coast guard personnel boarding a Filipino fishing boat at Scarborough Shoal and taking some of its catch, the officials said, adding that the Philippines sought compensation for the fishermen.

Chinese officials at the meeting “took note” of the concerns and promised to look into the reported incidents, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. China and the Philippines have agreed to hold such meetings to discuss their disputes in the South China Sea.

The Philippines intends to raise its concern again in another meeting with China, possibly in September, because of continuing reports of such incidents, including one reportedly witnessed by a TV news crew on board a fishing boat at Scarborough, the officials said.

Chinese Embassy officials in Manila did not immediately issue any comment.

The Chinese coast guard’s reported actions against Filipino fishermen sparked fresh calls for President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration to do more to protect Philippine interests in the disputed waters.

Antonio Carpio, a senior associate justice of the Supreme Court who has done extensive studies of the territorial disputes, said the Philippines could file a new case against China for violating a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s extensive territorial claims.