Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 13) — Filipino fishermen are driven away by warning shots fired by the Chinese in the West Philippine Sea, a boat operator said Thursday as he lamented the incidents of harassment endured by locals in contested waters.
“Nagpapaputok sila (Chinese) bilang warning pero hindi naman sila (Filipinos) pinapatamaan,” Allen dela Torre told CNN Philippines’ News Night, noting that he and his colleagues have experienced such “bullying.”
[Translation: “They fire warning shots without aiming at Filipinos.”]
“Syempre ang ano namin po ay maisave lang ang sarili, lumalayo na lamang po (Of course our reaction would be to leave to save our lives),” he added.
Dela Torre is the operator of F/B AJ Thanksgiving, the boat that took 22 Filipino fishermen rescued by a Vietnamese vessel after their boat was rammed by a Chinese ship near Reed Bank, an underwater feature being claimed by both the Philippines and China, last June 9.
He recalled other forms of Chinese intimidation as he discussed the boat crash which prompted the Philippines to file a diplomatic protest Wednesday. Malacañang said the Philippines may lessen diplomatic ties with China if it is proven that the Chinese fishing vessel “intentionally” sank the Filipino boat and abandoned local fishermen.
Dela Torre revealed that the fishermen were asleep when the Chinese vessel hit their boat that late Sunday night. This explains why the fishermen could not tell right away that it was a Chinese vessel, but government officials have said it’s Chinese.
“Yung pangalan man lang ng barko ay hindi nila nakita kasi nasurpresa po sila at syempre nasa kahimbingan sila ng tulog, disoras ng gabi,” he said.
[Translation: They did not even see the name of the ship because they were surprised. It was late night, they were fast asleep.]
It may be dark in the open seas, but Dela Torre said the Chinese crew surely saw that a fishing boat was there because of the flashers.
Dela Torre said it was the first time that such encounter between Filipino and Chinese vessels happened near the Reed Bank, also known as the Recto Bank, just 85 nautical miles away from Philippine shores.
He said the Chinese would fire warning shots to force Filipinos out of other disputed territories, including Scarborough Shoal.
“Isa po yan sa area na talagang nagpapaputok po diyan… May mga insidente na tatakutin ka talaga para hindi makalapit sa kanila,” Dela Torre said.
[Translation: “That is one of the areas where they really fire shots. There are incidents that they will really scare you so you won’t come near them.”]
The Philippines lost control over Scarborough Shoal, located around 120 nautical miles off Zambales, after a controversial standoff with China in 2012. This prompted Manila to file a case against China at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which it won. The arbitral ruling recognized the Philippines’ sovereign rights in its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, which includes Reed Bank. It did not rule on which country has sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal, but said China violated its duty to respect traditional fishing rights of Filipino fishermen there. China has refused to recognize the landmark ruling.
The complaint filed by two former officials against Chinese President Xi Jinping at the International Criminal Court last March contained written testimonies from fishermen who said they lost their livelihood to acts of harassment by Chinese vessels through the years.
