PH files new diplomatic protest vs China for Dec. 12 attack on fishermen

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines filed a diplomatic protest against China on Monday after the harassment and endangerment of Filipino fisherfolk in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Malacañang also denounced the water cannon attack of the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) on the 20 Filipino fishing boats, which led to three fishermen being injured.

In a briefing on Monday, Palace press officer Claire Castro echoed the Department of Foreign Affairs statement condemning the incident.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also directed the Philippine Coast Guard to prioritize the safety of all Filipinos, especially fisherfolk conducting their livelihood in the WPS.

“The President also ordered the deployment of personnel in strategic locations to monitor the situation and provide protection to our fishermen,” Castro said, quoting PCG spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela.

Marcos also reaffirmed his administration’s support for the acquisition of additional coast guard vessels so that “more assets can be deployed to safeguard our interests and the interests of our people.”

“This is the time for every Filipino to unite, to uphold the interests of our nation, and to uphold the interests of our fellow Filipinos,” she added.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro in a message to reporters confirmed that Manila submitted a demarche on the latest CCG attack to the Chinese embassy on Monday.

On Dec. 12,  small-scale subsistence fishers aboard around 20 Filipino fishing boats in Escoda were fired with water cannons, hazardous blocking maneuvers, and hostile acts by CCG vessels, including the deliberate cutting of Filipino fishing boats’ anchor lines.

READ: Chinese forces harass PH fishing vessels; 3 injured

Escoda Shoal is 70 nautical miles from mainland Palawan province and well within the Philippines’ 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Security experts consider the shoal as an emerging new flashpoint in the South China Sea as China intensifies its aggression in the body of water which it claims entirely as its own.

Three Filipinos were injured and two fishing boats were damaged after the water cannon attack.

Tarriela said this was not the first time that Filipino fishermen were targeted by water cannons, but it was the first time the boats were directly hit.

“These acts placed the lives of these Filipino artisanal fishers at greater risk, adding further danger to the already difficult sea conditions,” the President-led National Maritime Council (NMC) said in a statement.

The Philippine government responded by deploying PCG vessels BRP Malapascua (MRRV-4403) and BRP Cape Engaño (MRRV-4411) to assist and protect the affected fishers.

However, as these PCG vessels were carrying out their humanitarian and safety mission, the NMC reported that they were “repeatedly subjected to dangerous maneuvers and close-range approaches by multiple CCG ships, including a particularly hazardous nighttime incident.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Monday that the Philippines had assembled a large number of vessels “in an organized and premeditated manner to provoke trouble” in waters near the shoal.

Similar to its previous statements on CCG harassment on Filipino vessels in WPS, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday that the Philippines had assembled a large number of vessels “in an organized and premeditated manner to provoke trouble” in waters near the shoal.

READ: ‘Surprise of 2024’: Escoda Shoal in West PH Sea is new flashpoint

Beijing also accused the Filipino vessels of “repeatedly carrying out dangerous maneuvers.” It also said the Filipino fishermen threatened the armed CCG officers with knives.

“The measures taken by China were necessary to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, were reasonable and lawful, professional and restrained, and beyond reproach,” he said.

The NMC, however, rejected these claims, especially the statement of CCG spokesperson Liu Dejun saying that they only “took necessary control measures” to ward off the Filipino vessels. It called these Chinese remarks “deeply troubling.”

“Any measure that involves water cannons, dangerous maneuvers, and actions that cause injury and damage to small, wooden civilian fishing boats cannot be justified, particularly when undertaken against subsistence fishers peacefully fishing in the Philippines’ EEZ,” it noted.

Manila said it would firmly defend its people and sovereign rights in the WPS, “guided by diplomacy and adherence to international law.”

It also called on the CCG “to act responsibly, adhere to international standards of conduct, and place the preservation of life at sea above actions that sow fear and endanger civilians.”

Marcos earlier said that he would use the Philippines’ chairship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) next year to push for the conclusion of the negotiations Code of Conduct for the South China Sea.

For Marcos, the CoC would make things “a bit easier” for countries around the South China Sea by preventing claimant countries from doing coercive and provocative acts, which could result in serious tensions.

Apart from the Philippines and China, other Asean members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also have overlapping claims over the South China Sea. /das