The Philippines Is Looking To Take Legal Action Against China For Clam Extraction In Scarborough
PH SEES LEGAL ACTION – Chinese contraptions allegedly seen by Filipino fishermen extracting giant clams from the Scarborough Shoal.
There were previous reports about the presence of Chinese marine vessels around the Scarborough Shoal. China also reaffirmed their claim towards Spratly’s Islands ownership. Read more about it here.
Recently, Filipino Fisherman Michael Bernal came back with a few catch from fishing around the area. When asked about it, he revealed that the small catch could’ve been because of the murky water.
He said, the water has been clouded with sand and dust after people extracted giant clams around that location.
This is based on the news article from ABS CBN News. According to the article,
The fisherman said: “Wala pa sa kalahati yung nahuli namin ngayon…dahil doon sa malabo yung tubig sa loob. Saka ‘yung nagva-vacuum, ‘yung naghuhukay ng taklobo.”
or “Today’s catch didn’t even get to half of our usual catch. It’s because of the murky water. And the people using vacuum, those who are digging for giant clams.”
Chinese Coast Guards on speedboats visiting the site where they carry the extraction of giant clams were also reported driving away Filipino fishermen and other fishing vessels attempting to get to the shoal.
Albert Del Rosario, our country’s Foreign Affairs secretary called for the government to invoke UN-based arbitral ruling that disproved China’s claim of almost the entire South China Sea. This was after the reports of presence of Chinese vessels in the area.
However, Pres. Duterte said he would set the arbitral ruling aside for a while to initiate warmer ties with China.
Meanwhile, Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that the president’s action did not show that he ‘shelved’ rather he ‘effectively invoked’ Philippines arbitration victory against China.
That is all there is to it, we’ll post updates as soon as we got them.