THE Philippines has filed yet another diplomatic protest against China, this time over the annual fishing ban it imposes in the South China Sea (SCS), including the parts of the West Philippine Sea.
The protest was filed last Monday, said the Department of Foreign Affairs.
“The fact that it imposes such regulation over an SCS area (north on the 12th parallel) encroaching on PH territory and EEZ (exclusive economic zone) is a violation of Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights,” said Ivy Banzon-Abalos, DFA executive director for strategic communication.
The DFA, in a statement issued late Tuesday, said the May 1 to August 16 ban goes beyond its “legitimate maritime entitlements” under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS, and as such has no basis in international law.
“The Philippines does not recognize China’s unilateral imposition of a fishing moratorium in the South China Sea… China’s annual fishing moratorium extends far beyond China’s legitimate maritime entitlements under UNCLOS and is without basis under international law. China cannot legally impose nor legally enforce such a moratorium in the West Philippine Sea,” the DFA said, adding the ban covers areas over which the Philippines exercises “sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction.”
The DFA also said that under the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated China’s massive claims in the South China Sea, the fishing ban violates Article 56 of the UNCLOS which states that the Philippines, as the coastal state in the disputed waters, has “sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting conserving and managing the natural resources” of the exclusive economic zone.
“The 2016 Arbitral Award also affirmed the traditional and legitimate fishing rights of Filipino fishermen,” the DFA said as it called on Beijing to “desist from any action and activity that infringes on Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, in contravention of international law.”
Earlier, the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea said the ban does not apply to Filipino fishermen, and encouraged them to go out and fish in the waters of the West Philippine Sea, which forms part of the country’s exclusive economic zone.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has vowed to file a diplomatic protest every day until China pulls out all its vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
The DFA has filed 83 diplomatic protests to Beijing since President Duterte assumed power in mid-2016.
The Philippines is tapping satellite technology to enhance its terrestrial and maritime monitoring capabilities especially in the disputed waters.
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña yesterday signed a memorandum of agreement or the implementation of the project called Synthetic Aperture Radar and Automatic Identification System for Innovative
Terrestrial Monitoring and Maritime Surveillance (SAR with AIS) , which taps the NovaSAR-1 satellite in the collection of data from space.
“With this project, we have accelerated our interest in outer space, and we do it through the NovaSAR satellite. We can now capture images for maritime monitoring purposes including other interests in national security,” Esperon said.
Dela Pena said through the project the government is able to conduct an all-day imaging and ship detection which is important as the country is surrounded by a large body of water.
The project can be used to monitor and detect a variety of objects including ships and is minimally affected by weather conditions, making it an efficient option for monitoring. The AIS data collected also allows for the identification of the detected ships and the locations they have visited. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
