Chinese Coast Guard No Longer In Scarborough Shoal
The Chinese Coast Guard is not stopping Filipino fishermen from fishing in the disputed Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) as said by Malacañang Palace last Friday.
In a report by Inquirer, Malacañang has observed that in the past three days, Filipino fisher folks are no longer being blocked from catching fish from the rich area, said Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella.
“Also, regarding fishing on Scarborough shoal, for the past three days, it has been observed that there are no longer any Chinese Coast Guard vessels, and that Filipino fishing boats are no longer being intercepted, and that they’re now able to fish in the area without being intercepted,” Abella said as quoted in the report.
Abella, who refused to give the source of his information, said that it has been observed that there are no longer Chinese Coast Guards in the shoal.
In the report, President Rodrigo Duterte said during his speech at the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela, which were hit by a typhoon, that he talked with the Chinese government about the Scarborough Shoal during his state visit to the China.
It added that Duterte really hopes that Filipino fishermen would be able to fish again in the disputed rich fishing area, the Panatag Shoal.
According to the report, there are eight groups of fishermen from the province of Zambales who went to the Scarborough Shoal and came back without being harassed and blocked by the Chinese Coast Guard.
Meanwhile, the Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) is within the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines wherein China is insisting that it is theirs since 2012.
The United Nations International Arbitral Tribunal even released a ruling saying that China has no right at the said disputed area but, it still refused the decision.
