Fishers to continue fishing in WPS, want more patrols amid China order

The New Masinloc Fishermen Association on Sunday stood firm that they will continue fishing in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) despite China’s regulation of detaining any foreign nationals “trespassing” in the South China Sea.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Leonardo Cuaresma, president of the Zambales-based association, condemned China's threats to jail WPS trespassers, saying that Filipino fishermen know that they are only fishing in the Philippine territory.

“Hindi nila dapat gawin 'yan sapagkat kami po, alam namin ang ating batas. Wala naman tayong nilalabag ayon sa ating fishery law. Bukod diyan ay wala naman kaming anumang binu-bully o hina-harass na mga kalahi nila,” Cuaresma said.

(China should not do that because we know our law. We are not violating anything based on our fishery law. Aside from that, we’ve not bullied or harassed any of them.)

“Alam namin na 'yan ay teritoryo natin at pag-aari ng Pilipinas. Kung kaya’t wala silang dapat gawin sa bagay na ‘yan,” he added.

(We know that that is our territory and it belongs to the Philippines. Therefore, China should not impose anything there.)

Beijing's controversial regulation, which will take effect in June, allows the China Coast Guard to detain trespassers for up to 60 days, according to a report by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.

China's expansive claims over most of the South China Sea overlap with the West Philippine Sea, including the Scarborough Shoal which is located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales and within the Philippines' 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Despite this, the New Masinloc Fishermen Association said they will continue doing their work and warned China to “get ready” if ever a Filipino fisherman gets arrested.

“Hangga’t alam namin na wala tayong nilalabag [na batas], ay patuloy pa rin ang aming pangingisda diyan. Dati naman nang lumalabas na para na pong magnanakaw ang ating mangingisda sa lugar na 'yan,” Cuaresma said.

(As long as we know that we are not violating any law, we will continue to fish there. They are making it seem like Filipino fishermen are thieves in our own territory.)

More patrols

He also appealed for the Philippine government to deploy more personnel patrolling the West Philippine Sea daily.

“Kung kinakailangan siguro ay ibuhos natin ang ating buong lakas parang sa ganon ay makita nila na pinapakita natin na hindi nila teritoryo ang lugar na ‘yan,” he added.

(We might need to exert our full strength to make China see that we want to tell them that that place is not their territory.)

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday also condemned China’s regulation, saying that that kind of action “would be completely unacceptable to the Philippines.”

“The position that we take is that that is unacceptable, and we will take whatever measures to always protect our citizens,” Marcos said. —KG, GMA Integrated News