Agreements,violations
Of course, Roque would say that there is still a need for verification of the video of the incident where Chinese Coast Guard personnel boarded a Filipino fishing boat and took their best catch. According to Roque, he did not see any bullying done by the Chinese after watching the video. So the Chinese boarding the fishing boat and taking their catch is not bullying? Does Roque think they were just asking for food? How can the Filipino fishermen say no to the Chinese that control Panatag Shoal?
If a large group of men, some you know to be carrying firearms, approach you and start picking through your newly-purchased groceries, is that not bullying? Didn't they exploit your helplessness, knowing you couldn't do anything about it? That's exactly how this administration treats anything that has to do with China. Even if Filipino fishermen are supposedly treated this way, in the Exclusive Economic Zone where they have the right to fish, they tread lightly lest they anger China.
Roque claims that a protest will be filed if the harassment is proven. There is a video, there are statements from the fishermen themselves. According to a fisherman, the Chinese Coast Guard would go through their catch, and get the best ones. This administration frequently trumpets that Filipino fishermen were allowed to return to Panatag Shoal after their negotiations with the Chinese. DFA Secretary Cayetano reiterates that both China and the Philippines have agreed that fishermen can freely navigate the South China Sea. But are they really free to fish? Or is that how it's going to be?
Recently, there are reports that those resupplying the BRP Sierra Madre were harassed. Then we have the incident in Panatag Shoal. Will the fishermen eventually be prevented from fishing the waters within our EEZ? Will the issue of taking out the BRP Sierra Madre be resurrected? If that happens, will this administration still choose to keep quiet and tread lightly around China? Will Duterte keep saying how helpless the AFP is against China? How we cannot defend our claims because it is suicide?
It is one thing to say that an agreement has been made with regards to Filipino fishermen and the South China Sea, it is another thing to see a video such as the one that recently surfaced. Statements from the fishermen themselves paint a different picture, even going as far as to ask if we have become slaves to China. That speaks volumes. Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua has assured the DFA that violators will be apprehended. We can only wish. With so many Chinese ships out there, where do they start?
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