Pilipinas pumalag sa fishing ban ng China na sapul ang West PH Sea

MAYNILA— Isa na namang diplomatic protest ang inihain ng Pilipinas laban sa China para naman sa ipinataw na taunang fishing ban sa South China Sea. 

• ‘A violation’: DFA asserts PH position on China’s fishing ban in West PH Sea

Ang problema, saklaw ng unilateral fishing ban ang West Philippine Sea, ang exclusive economic zone (EEZ) ng Pilipinas sa South China Sea.

"[T]he Philippines does not recognize China's unilateral imposition of a fishing moratorium in the South China Sea for the period 01 May to 16 August 2021... These waters include areas over which the Philippines exercises sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction," sabi sa pahayag ng Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). 

Alinsunod sa naipanalong kaso ng Pilipinas laban sa China sa arbitral court noong 2016 at maging sa United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), sinabi ng DFA na nilalabag ng fishing ban ang karapatan ng Pilipinas.

"China, by promulgating its moratorium on fishing in the South China Sea, breached article 56 of the 1982 UNCLOS with respect to the Philippines' sovereign rights over the living resources of its exclusive economic zone... The 2016 arbitral award also affirmed the traditional and legitimate fishing rights of Filipino fishermen."

Wala umanong batayan para magpataw ang China ng fishing ban sa West Philippine 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." 

Nauna nang sinabi ng National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea na hindi susunod ang Pilipinas sa fishing ban ng China at hinikayat pa ang mga Pilipino na mangisda.

• Mga mangingisdang Pinoy dapat magbabad sa West PH Sea: BFAR

Sabi pa ng task force, mayroon pa ring namataang mga Chinese maritime militia na humuhuli ng mga kabibi sa loob ng lagoon ng Bajo de Masinloc sa kabila ng sinasabing fishing ban.

• Diplomatic protest inihain dahil sa halos 300 Chinese vessel sa EEZ ng Pilipinas
• Enrile, Trillanes nagpatutsadahan ukol sa West PH Sea issue

—Ulat ni Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News