PH Protests China Fishing Ban in WPS, US Backs PH Protest

The Philippines once again filed a diplomatic protest against China on Monday, this time due to a unilateral imposition of a three-and-half-month long fishing ban which includes areas of Philippine sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.

In a diplomatic note dated May 30, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that the Philippines has “sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction” over the areas where the fishing ban will be imposed.

The diplomatic note cited the 2016 tribunal in which the United Nations junked China’s claim to most of the West Philippine Sea waters.

The fishing ban is imposed from May 1 to August 16, 2022.

Moreover, the DFA statement regarding the diplomatic protest said that China’s fishing ban extends far beyond their legitimate territory.

“The DFA reiterated its continuing protest of China’s annual practice of declaring a fishing ban over areas that extend far beyond China’s legitimate maritime entitlements under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” the DFA statement read.

The statement also said that the fishing ban undermines the bilateral relations affirmed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte and President Xi Jinping.

“The declaration of a moratorium on fishing that extends to the West Philippine Sea has no basis in law, and undermines the mutual trust, confidence and respect that should underpin bilateral relations, as affirmed most recently by President Rodrigo R. Duterte and President Xi Jinping during their telesummit on April 8,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, the United States backed the Philippine protest, with US State Department spokesperson Ned Price saying in a tweet Friday that the fishing ban is inconsistent with the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling.

“The PRC’s unilateral fishing moratorium in the South China Sea is inconsistent with the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling and international law as reflected in #UNCLOS,” Price’s tweet read.

He also added that China should abide by its international law obligations.

“We call upon the PRC to abide by its obligations under international law,” Price added.

China, however, rejected the Philippines’ protest Thursday, saying it will not accept the “unwarranted accusation” of the Philippine government. (GFB)