Nothing new in China’s fishing ban – Marcos

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – China’s four-month fishing ban in the South China Sea (SCS) is not new and is just an extension of the country’s maritime claim, President Marcos said yesterday.

Marcos, however, described China’s new rule on detaining those who trespassed what it claims to be its borders as “very worrisome.”

“There are fishing bans ... because it’s the season. And this is something that we have actually agreed upon before,” he said in a media interview after the Philippine Business Forum here.

“But the new policy of threatening to detain our own citizens, that is different. That is an escalation of the situation. So, yes, it is now very worrisome,” he added as he expressed readiness to exhaust all means to resolve the issue peacefully.

China’s maritime claim, which covers virtually the entire SCS, was voided by a Hague-based international arbitral court in 2016.

The Chinese government refuses to recognize the tribunal’s ruling, which also affirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights over its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The Philippines and China have had numerous tense encounters in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), the area in the SCS that is within the Philippines’ EEZ and continental shelf.

Manila has assailed Beijing for resorting to aggressive actions to assert its claim in the strategic sealane, including the use of water cannons and laser pointers on patrolling coast guard vessels.

Earlier this month, China announced that it has allowed its coast guard to detain violators of its exit-entry regulations for up to 30 days. For more complicated cases, the detention period may be extended to 60 days.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has criticized the policy, saying it is inconsistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Philippines has also protested China’s imposition of a fishing moratorium in the South China Sea from May 1 to Sept. 16 this year, noting that it covers Philippine maritime zones.

Asked if there are meetings or backchannel efforts to resolve the dispute or at least forge some sort of a middle ground with China, Marcos replied: “Yes, of course, there are. I’ve said it many times. You should try everything. You