Duterte to push case for access to fishery

PHILIPPINES: China will consider giving Filipino fishermen conditional access to disputed waters in the South China Sea after the presidents of the two countries meet in Beijing this week, two Chinese sources with ties to the leadership said.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to raise the plight of Filipino fishermen when he meets his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, a Philippine official told Reuters.

China seized Scarborough Shoal - claimed by Beijing as Huangyan island and by Manila as Panatag - in 2012, denying Philippine fishermen access to its rich fishing grounds. The seizure formed part of a case the Philippines took to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, which in July rejected China’s territorial claims over much of the South China Sea, including its assertion of a 200-mile (320km) exclusive economic zone around the disputed Spratly Islands.

China immediately declared the ruling ‘‘null and void’’ but said it was time to get talks started again between the countries directly involved in the territorial disputes to reach a peaceful resolution.

Arriving at his hotel in Beijing, Duterte told reporters he expected to achieve ‘‘plenty of happiness for my country’’ during his trip to China. Asked about the South China Sea dispute, he said: ‘‘No, that is not one of the topics on the agenda. It might crop up but it is going to be a soft landing for everyone. No impositions.’’

Beijing is now considering making a concession to Duterte, whose rapprochement with China since taking office on June 30 marks an astonishing reversal in recent Philippine foreign policy.

‘‘Everybody can go, but there will be conditions,’’ one of the Chinese sources who speaks regularly with senior officials told Reuters, referring to Chinese and Filipino fishermen.

Asked what the conditions were, the source said: ‘‘The two countries would have to form working groups to iron out details.’’

It was unclear, however, if China would agree to joint coastguard patrols.

The sources did not say what, if anything, China might demand from Manila in exchange for the fishing concession.

‘‘It will be a return to the Arroyo days,’’ the second Chinese source said, referring to the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001-2010), when fishermen from both countries had access to waters near Scarborough Shoal.

If all goes according to script, fishery co-operation would be one of more than 10 broad framework agreements the two countries would sign during Duterte’s visit, the sources said.

The Philippine foreign ministry said it had ‘‘no comment at this time’’. - Reuters