Zambales fishers say China Coast Guard seen 30 nautical miles from Masinloc

China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels have been seen 30 nautical miles from the shores of Masinloc, Zambales, the head of a group of fishermen said Monday.

"Sa ngayon nga 'yung kanilang mga barko ay nakakapagpatrolya na sila hanggang 30 milyahe mula dito sa pampang. Natatanaw na po namin ‘yung barko nila (China)," Leonardo Cuaresma, president of New Masinloc Fisherman’s Association, said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

Asked if it seems the CCG are getting nearer, Cuaresma replied: "Tama po."

GMA News Online has contacted the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to get their comment on the matter and will update the story once they reply.

Cuaresma on China’s ‘no-trespass rule’ in West PHL Sea: Sa ngayon, ‘yung kanilang mga barko nakakapagpatrolya na sila hanggang 30 milyahe mula dito sa pampang. Natatanaw na namin ‘yung barko nila (China).

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) June 23, 2024

The CCG's presence has discouraged fishermen from going farther than 30 nautical miles out to sea, or even venturing out to Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) where they used to fish, Cuaresma said.

"Sa kasalukuyan ang ating mga mangingisda na pumupunta sa Bajo de Masinloc ay hindi na sila ngayon pumupunta dahil sa ito 'yung pangyayari na talagang matindi na ‘yung pagbabantay na ginagawa ng China Coast Guard sa Bajo de Masinloc," he said.

"Kaya 'yung regular na pumapalaot diyan ngayon sa Bajo de Masinloc — may dalawang bangka na meron pong 50 mangingisda na pumupunta dati diyan — sa ngayon po dahil sa matindi ang kanilang pagbabantay sa bahura ng ating karagatan ay hindi na sila ngayon bumabalik," Cuaresma added.

The fishermen have seen the threat from the CCG that even the PCG is being harassed, he said.

"Unang-una, nakikita natin 'yung nangyayari ngayon na totoong mapanganib po ang pangyayari na talagang hina-harass na po nila 'yung ating mga mangingisda at maging 'yung ating Philippine Coast Guard," Cuaresma said.

China started implementing last June 15 a regulation empowering its coast guard to detain foreigners trespassing in the South China Sea.

Since June 15, fishermen noted the increased patrols by CCG in the waters around Bajo de Masinloc.

"Mula po noong June 15 ay matindi na ‘yung kanilang pagbabantay. At talagang napaikutan na nila 'yung Bajo de Masinloc," Cuaresma said.

Cuaresma said Masinloc fishermen could now only reach up to 100 nautical miles from Bajo de Masinloc, unlike before when they could go near the triangular coral reef formation famed for its rich waters and marine resources.

READ: EXPLAINER: What is Scarborough Shoal and why is it important?

"Sa ngayon, nasa halos 100 milyahe ‘yung layo namin talaga na talagang patuloy ‘yung pagpapatrolya ng mga China Coast Guard diyan sa ating karagatan kaya 'yung ating mga Scarborough fishermen ay hindi na nakakabalik na pumalaot para mangisda doon sa Bajo de Masinloc," he said.

Those who used to fish in Bajo de Masinloc have instead turned to deep-sea fishing which may be conducted 20 to 30 nautical miles from the shores of Zambales.

"Ang ginagawa na lang nila ngayon ay nakikigaya na sila sa aming mga deep-sea fishermen. Ngayon nakakapalaot kami hanggang sa 20 to 30 nautical miles na lang 'yung aming nararating para pangisdaan," Cuaresma said.

"'Yung ating mga mangingisda ngayon ay kung saan hindi nila natatanaw 'yung mga kalaban natin diyan na mga China Coast Guard ay doon na lang sila nakakapangisda. At tanging pangangawil 'yung ginagawa ng ating mga kasamahan diyan sa mga payaw na naka-deploy sa gitna ng karagatan," he added.

Although the government has assured the fishermen that its military will patrol the WPS and the PCG will protect them, the fishermen are still wary of venturing out farther.

"Ang nakikita namin ngayon, bagama't nangangako sila na bibigyan nila tayo ng suporta kung sakaling mangyayari ang ganitong sitwasyon na panghuhuli ng China Coast Guard pero nakakalungkot po dahil mismong ang kanilang sasakyan na mga barko, sila mismo ang ating mga Philippine Coast Guard ay naha-harass," Cuaresma said.

"So paano kami maniniwala na kaming mga mangingisda ay mabibigyan ng tamang proteksyon kung sila mismo ay nasasaktan? Inaakyat ‘yung kanilang mga barko na para inspeksyonin at agawin ‘yung kanilang mga armas. At sila pa ‘yung nasasaktan at nasusugatan, napuputulan ng daliri," he added.

"So kung kaming mga civilian na mga mangingisda, paano kami maipagtatanggol ng ating mga Philippine Coast Guard kung sila mismo ay hindi nila maidepensa 'yung kanilang sarili?" Cuaresma added.

He was referring to an incident on June 15 in the waters near Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) wherein Philippine Navy servicemembers on a rotation and resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre were hurt after CCG personnel intentionally rammed their vessel, boarded it, and took their weapons.

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.

Manila calls parts of the waters within its exclusive economic zone as the West Philippine Sea.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled that China's claims over the South China Sea had no legal basis, a decision Beijing does not recognize.

The PCA also deemed Scarborough Shoal a high-tide feature, meaning a number of its rocks remained exposed at high tide.

Despite this, the tribunal found that the high-tide features at the shoal “are rocks that cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own” and therefore shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.

When it comes to fishing, the international tribunal acknowledged that the shoal has been a traditional fishing ground for fishermen of many nationalities, including the Philippines, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. It also accepted that the claims of both the Philippines and China to have traditionally fished at the shoal are “accurate and advanced in good faith.”

The tribunal, however, noted that China had violated its duty to respect the traditional fishing rights of Filipino fishermen by restricting their access to the shoal after May 2012. —with a report from Anna Felicia Bajo/KG, GMA Integrated News