MANILA, Philippines — Progressive lawmakers Monday called for an investigation into the proliferation of Chinese ships conducting illegal dredging activities in the country's waters days after one such vessel was caught by state forces.
To recall, the Philippine Coast Guard disclosed that joint personnel of the PCG and the Bureau of Customs spotted and boarded the Zhonhai 68, which they identified as an illegal vessel, seven nautical miles southwest off Orion Point, Bataan on the morning of Wednesday, January 27.
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In filing the yet-unnumbered resolution entitled, "Resolution urging the House of Representatives, through the committee on natural resources, to conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, on the proliferation of Chinese dredging ships conducting illegal dredging activities in the Philippines," lawmakers under the Makabayan bloc alleged that the same ship had already been caught dredging in Philippine waters in the past.
"This incident is not the first time Chinese-manned dredging ships were caught conducting illegal activities in the Philippines. Since 2017, there are several reports of illegal Chinese dredging activities in different parts of the country," the resolution read, saying these activities "disrespect" the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"Residents near the areas repeatedly raised alarms over these activities as these cause adverse environmental effects and negatively impact their livelihood," it also added.
According to the House lawmakers, Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares and a team documented the same Zhonghai 68 vessel "anchored offshore" in Zambales in 2019. "Local fisherfolk also sent pictures of quarrying ships with Chinese crew...some sources from Zambales claim that these dredging activities continued even in 2020," the resolution also said.
Colmenares in a separate statement issued Monday afternoon also said that "along with Zhonhai 68 there is another Chinese ship with it in 2019 and it should also be found."
"I personally took this picture and it is just stored on my cellphone. There were actually two Zhonhais there. One is Zhonhai 68 and the other is Zhonhai 88 as seen in the picture. Our fishermen told me in 2019 that they bring sand and even lahar out to the WPS," he said.
'Concentrate on China's abuse instead of going after critics'
Colmenares in his statement also called on the Duterte administration to concentrate more on the abuses being done by China in our country rather than attacking its critics and those who oppose the terror law.
"There have been numerous abuses done by China against the Philippines that the Duterte administration should address. Among them are the claiming and setting up of military installations in the West Philippine Sea, the harassment of Filipino fishermen in our own waters, passing of laws that would also bring harm to our fishermen, the proliferation of POGOs in our country, the dredging of our seas and rivers by Chinese companies, onerous deals like the Kaliwa and Chico dam projects and the list goes on," the former senatorial candidate said.
"These are the issues that the security sector of the Duterte administration should be focusing and not its critics who are just voicing out the demands and complaints of our people. The Philippines does not need an anti-terror law what we need is an alert government that would stand up for Philippine sovereignty and work with its allies in the ASEAN for joint patrols and keep China in check in a peaceful but firm manner," he added.
Just the day before, fisherfolk's federation Pamalakaya called on the national government to sanction seized Chinese vessels, pointing out the negative effects of local fishers including the decrease of fish catch caused by what they said were rampant dredging operations.
"Also it seems that there are more Chinese dredging ships in our waters and these should immediately be found...We hope that the Philippine coast guard and the Navy would act double time in looking for Zhonhai 88 as well as other Chinese dredging vessels so that they can properly be investigated," Colmenares said.
Why does this matter?
- This comes in the wake of China's new law allowing its coast guard to fire at or even inspect foreign vessels found in Chinese-claimed waters, including the West Philippine Sea.
- Foreign Affairs chief Teodoro Locsin Jr. has since filed a diplomatic protest against the measure.
- To this day, Beijing continues to reject the arbitral ruling that the Philippines won in The Hague in 2016 based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which held that China's sweeping nine-dash line claim has no legal basis.
- But no less than President Rodrigo Duterte has asserted that he cannot do anything on the maritime dispute as doing so, he claimed, would mean going to war with them.
- Other members of the Phillippine delegation in the South China Sea arbitration have already said that enforcing the arbitral win does not necessarily mean going to war with Beijing, suggesting other possible measures to uphold the ruling.