Defense Chief: Ignore China Fishery Rule

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin has said that Philippine fishermen should ignore the Chinese rule that requires foreign fishing vessels to secure permission before entering the South China Sea.

Gazmin said the Hainan law did not apply to Philippine territorial waters, which also overlap with those of China that claims most of the South China Sea.

The fishery law, which took effect this year, was passed in November by Hainan, China’s southern island province, raising tensions over the overlapping claims to the waters between China, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Gazmin said they they should not follow China law in the Philippines, asking “Why do we need permission from another country that does not own our fishing grounds? These are ours.”

He added “We still have the capability to secure them (Filipino fishermen).” The defense chief also said “if necessary,” Philippine government would provide escort vessels to Filipino fishermen.

The foreign affairs department on Tuesday alleged that the Hainan rule affects the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), an area that extends 200 miles from its coast where it has sovereign rights to explore and exploit the natural resources under the 1982 UN convention.

The Philippines has been engaged in a rising dispute with China over reefs and island in the South China Sea, where the Philippine government also claimed as West Philippines Sea.

“China has been projecting herself as a superpower, but chooses to pick on small countries like ours that have puny military capability,” Gazmin said.

Source: Gma News Online

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