Fishermen caught in net of Xi’s ambition
A David and Goliath dispute in the South China Sea is leading to new fears of military conflict, writes Shayma Bakht in Zambales.
For all his career as a fisherman, Miguel Betana has been trawling the waters of the Scarborough Shoal, a triangular patch of reefs and rocks and turquoise waters in the South China Sea.
On his latest trip, that all came to a halt. This time, his way was blocked by a row of seven Chinese fishing vessels. The Shoal is an atoll about 120 nautical miles west of Zambales, a district on the west coast of Luzon, the main island of the Philippines and Betana’s home.
It is claimed by China, whose nearest point is 500 miles away, and Beijing has begun asserting its military – and fishing – might.
Similar incidents are happening all across the area west of Luzon, Betana, 56, said. Blocked from fishing, he had taken to tailing the Chinese vessels to investigate what they were up to.
Chinese ships have attacked Filipino vessels with water cannon. They have also, he said, damaged the fishing grounds themselves, using toxic chemicals to stun fish to make them easier to catch.
“After the [Chinese] boats leave, some of us will go deep-fishing outside the lagoon to catch whatever they have left behind,” he said.
“But that is also the time that we can investigate the situation of our corals.”
The dispute over sovereignty in the South China Sea has brought Beijing into a war of words with both the Philippines and its biggest ally, the United States, in recent weeks.
That war is also threatening to spill over into the wider geopolitical conflict between China and the US, along with the latter’s Pacific allies.
Tomorrow, American, Philippine, Japanese and Australian vessels are expected to conduct naval drills in the South China Sea.
Next week, US President Joe Biden will hold a trilateral summit at the White House with President Marcos of the Philippines and Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan.
The Philippines points to a 2016 ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague in the Netherlands which found that the Scarborough Shoal lay within its exclusive economic zone.
China claims that it has historic jurisdiction over the area, along with other reefs and atolls, on some of which it has built military infrastructure.
Recent clashes with Chinese coastguard vessels have led to Philippines officials announcing that troops were now preparing for the “worst-case scenario”.
However, Betana and his fellow fishermen say the damage being caused by the dispute is not merely the threat of war; it is also a threat to the environment. Much of the fishing is not for food but to serve the aquarium trade and the market for exotic shells.
Officials have opened an investigation into alleged illegal use of poisons on the reefs, while the navy is looking into the reports of illegal fishing and other aggression from Chinese vessels.
The Zambales fishermen claim to have seen the Chinese use distinctive squeezing bottles with long tubes that dispense the cyanide-based liquid over the coral reefs of the shoal.
They say this was followed by telltale trails of bleached white coral in the surrounding areas, with fish floating towards the surface after being stunned by the mixture.
The Filipinos acknowledge that the practice was first developed by their predecessors in the 1960s, but say that the Chinese have “over-used” the poisons, as well as trawling the sea floor in defiance of environmental laws put in place since then.
“We noticed for years that the corals are dying because of their cyanide,” said Leonardo Cuaresma, president of the New Masinloc Fishermen’s Association in Zambales.
“It is endangering species such as giant clams, and our sea shells are also disappearing.”
Beijing has denied all of the claims and dismissed the reports as “sheer fabrication”. It has also demanded that America stop “interfering”.
Deprived of their traditional fishing grounds out to sea, the Filipino fishermen are inflicting damage closer to the mainland. On an expedition across local waters on a bangka, a type of canoe, the fishermen said that their number was dwindling and that they were resorting to desperate measures to maintain their livelihoods.
They too were overfishing and using poison, Betana said. “China has pushed them to do this. They cannot fish in our waters so they take from protected areas secretly. They have to provide for their families,” he said.
“A lot of fishermen who fled the shoal have to rely for their livelihood on the local waters. Now we notice that our catch is also dwindling.”
The Chinese foreign ministry has accused the Philippines of launching a “smear campaign” after Gilberto Teodoro Jr, the defence secretary, accused Beijing of encroaching on the South China Sea and using propaganda to deflect attention from its actions.
Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said that the Philippines was responsible for its own “propaganda trap” and it was encroaching on Chinese sovereignty in the area.
Jay Tarriela, a Philippines coastguard spokesman, said: “The Philippine coastguard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources remain undeterred by the illegal presence of Chinese maritime forces and their provocative actions.
“We are committed to conducting marine scientific research in the West Philippine Sea to enhance our understanding of our coral reef diversity and aquatic resources.”
The fishermen, however, see little future, given the overwhelming strength of the Chinese navy compared with their own.
“We know China will continue to harass us [unless] we get help from other countries,” Cuaresma said. “Whether we admit it or not, our country really has no ability to fight China, even if they bully us.
“We still dream that all Scarborough fishermen can return to the shoal. That is the only way we can protect our community and our sea.” – The Times