Pinoy fishers need not worry over China's 'no trespass' rule —PCG

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Saturday stood firm on the Philippines’ position that China’s anti-trespassing policy in the South China Sea, which overlaps with the country’s exclusive economic zone, has no basis.

The PCG also urged Filipino fishermen to continue fishing in the waters.

“Walang basehan ang regulasyon ng China kaya dapat 'wag matakot ang ating mga mangingisda,” PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan said in an interview on Dobol B TV on Saturday.

(China’s regulation has no basis, thus our fishermen should not be afraid.)

“Walang basehan ang China na maglabas ng ganu'ng utos. Ang ipinag-utos sa amin ng Pangulo, dapat wala kahit isang mangingisda ang maapektuhan nu'n,” he said.

(China has no legal basis to issue such a policy. The President tasked us that no fishermen should be affected by that policy.)

Gavan assured the country’s fisherfolk that authorities will protect them.

“Ang PCG, AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), at BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) ay nagsama-sama para maprotektahan ang ating mga mangingisda,” he said.

(The PCG, AFP, and BFAR have come together to protect our fishermen.)

In May, China issued a regulation empowering its coast guard to detain foreigners trespassing in the South China Sea

The China Coast Guard (CCG) can detain trespassers without trial, the South China Morning Post reported, citing a regulatory document of Beijing set to take effect on June 15.

On Friday, a day before the said policy takes effect, the AFP said the Philippines “will not be deterred or intimidated,” reiterating that China’s actions in the waters within the Philippine territory are “illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive.”

Gavan said the PCG already relayed instructions to its personnel on measures to do should China proceed with arresting Filipino fishermen.

The PCG commandant said he issued an order across the Coast Guard’s affected districts to coordinate with fishing organizations in their area.

Gavan added that PCG districts should monitor the movements of fishermen and the latter should make arrangements with the Coast Guard so that authorities know their whereabouts and if China would harass them.

“Dapat magpaalam ang mga mangingisda sa PCG station kapag sila ay papalaot upang malaman kung saan sila pupunta,” he said.

(Fishermen should inform the PCG station if they will go out to sea so we will know where they are headed.)

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Its territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

In 2016, however, an international arbitration tribunal in The Hague ruled that China's claims over the South China Sea have no legal basis, a decision that Beijing does not recognize.

On the heels of China’s anti-trespassing policy, the Philippines has officially asked the United Nations to extend its boundary farther into the disputed South China Sea.

In a statement, the DFA said the country, through the Philippine Mission to the UN in New York, on June 15 "submitted information to the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to register the country’s entitlement to an extended continental shelf (ECS) in the West Palawan Region in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea.” —KG, GMA Integrated News