PCG clarifies ‘assertive transparency’ tact

THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said its “assertive transparency” strategy is not only aimed at exposing Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) but also extends to its intention to protect the marine environment.

“Many might think that our transparency strategy is focused on the public exposure of the Chinese aggression against Philippine ships whenever we carry out resupply missions to our troops in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, military operations and coast guard patrols,” Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesman for WPS, said during the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel on Friday.

“This strategy is also aimed at identifying potential environmental risks and safeguarding the marine environment,” said Tarriela.

This is why, he said, the PCG — together with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute — are conducting expeditions in the WPS to inspect marine areas they believe have been damaged due to illegal activities allegedly conducted by China.

Tarriela said that on March 20 to 23, PCG’s BRP Sindangan escorted two BFAR vessels that are undertaking an environmental impact study off Pag-asa Island.

Likewise, he said that the study is aimed at determining the current state of the Pag-asa Cays following the discovery of dead corals in Sandy Cay One, Two and Three last year.

Related:

“In 2012, for example, the Philippines ten-week standoff with China ultimately resulted in its loss of the Scarborough Shoal, which is claimed by both countries. (Campbell, 2016).”

Campbell, K. (2016). The Pivot: The Future of American Statecraft in Asia. Hachette Book Group

Remember the following when the PH government singles out China over environmental damage to the reefs in the South China Sea.

PH mulls cases vs China, Vietnam over alleged cyanide fishing

BFAR: China damaging Bajo de Masinloc to thwart Pinoy fishers

“The BFAR and the Philippine Coast Guard said they were leaving it up to the Department of Justice to decide if a complaint would be filed against China.”

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“In September last year, the Office of the Solicitor General said it considered filing a new complaint against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the reported damage to corals in the WPS.”

United Nations stresses separation from Hague tribunal

“The UN said the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which issued the decision on the case on Tuesday, operated out of the same building, the Peace Palace, as the UN’s primary justice branch, the International Court of Justice, but the two agencies were unrelated.”

Fishermen lambast government’s inaction vs Vietnamese poachers (archived)

“‘The Marcos administration seems to be too preoccupied with countering China that it has forgotten about Vietnam, whose fishermen use Illegal dynamite fishing in our territorial waters and forcibly drive our fishermen away from areas where they get their daily livelihood.’ the group said in a statement given to media.”

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“The group noted that in 2018, the Department of National Defense declared that Vietnamese fishermen were the most frequent poachers in Philippine waters.”

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“Much depleted fishing stocks in waters close to Vietnam have pushed Vietnamese fishers to venture farther into the EEZ of the Philippines competing with Filipino fishers.”

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“Currently, a total of 300 hectares of land in the Spratly Islands have been reclaimed by Vietnam making it the only other claimant besides China who has undertaken more island expansion in the South China Sea. Some of these features are also claimed by the Philippines.

“According to a study, a total of 567 hectares of coral reefs from the 16 features in the South China Sea that Vietnam has occupied have been damaged due to the methods employed to conduct its island-building projects.”

Video: PH Fishermen protest on BBM’s negligence amid Vietnam’s reclamations and poaching in WPS 

[09-24-2022] The Joker in the WPS battle

“Thus has it come to the point that to most of the Filipino people, China has been depicted as the ruthless rampaging villain that needs to be fought. Throughout [Teodoro] Locsin’s tenure, he filed a total of 380 diplomatic protests against China regarding the dispute. Now, if this number of protests were to correctly correspond to Chinese occupations in the WPS, then it is this concern that makes the popular antipathy of Filipinos toward China utterly misdirected. Based on the actual condition in the region, the three major nations having occupancy in the West Philippine Sea are: Philippines, 9 islands; China, 8; and Vietnam, 27 islands, with 49 outposts. Clearly from this record, granting that the Philippines’ claim to the area is valid, all the more reason it must have to protest Vietnamese incursions than Chinese, and yet all throughout the past administration, not even a squeak has been heard against Vietnam; not a single diplomatic protest filed.”

“It should be a good thing that a group of Filipino fishermen has taken pains to sound the alarm over the sighting of Vietnamese fishing vessels poaching in the Katimugan South Reef of the Spratly Islands which is claimed by the Philippines as part of its exclusive economic zone. Pictures were taken of the Vietnamese fishing vessels and one boat “qng37097ts” was clearly identified. According to the fishermen, they have submitted their report and photos of the Vietnamese poachers to the Philippine Coast Guard, hoping that action can be taken. The fishermen aver that the Vietnamese poachers have been frequently observed to use illegal techniques such as dynamite, superlight, compressor and cyanide fishing, resulting in massive damage to the reefs that nurture the fishes. In none of the instances of similar reported Chinese poachers in the WPS has any of the cited illegal fishing techniques been involved. Quantified in terms of damage, the Vietnamese have scored 100 percent and the Chinese none, and yet in terms of propaganda, it has always been a 100 percent China destruction.”

“In October 2018, then-Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana himself complained to reporters on the sidelines of the 79th Founding Anniversary of the Department of National Defense that, ‘Normally, fishing boats ng mga Vietnamese sila ang karamihan na pumapasok sa atin eh… (fishing boats of Vietnamese are the majority of those entering our waters…).’ This admission really exposes the truth that it is not Chinese fishing boats abusing our seas.”