The court in 2016 designated Scarborough Shoal as a shared fishing area and prohibited China from taking aggressive actions
Off limits Having built structures that could host planes and troops at Scarborough Shoal, China has blocked fishing boats from entering the militarized area, where it had a standoff with the Philippine Navy in 2012. | AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Chinese vessels have made Scarborough Shoal a no-fishing zone for Filipinos, the Armed Forces of the Philippines confirmed yesterday.
AFP spokesperson, Col. Medel Aguilar, expressed disappointment over China's action at the resource-rich Scarborough Shoal, a group of rocks and reefs about 230 kilometers west of the coast of Luzon.
"It's regrettable (that the Filipinos cannot fish at the Scarborough Shoal), but let's see what happens next because we can't allow it to be like this forever," Aguilar said.
"It's like they're insulting us with their actions, knowing well that their territorial claim has no basis," Aguilar added.
Aguilar said Chinese coast guard and militia vessels have blocked access to the shoal in a move that could affect shipping and fishing in the area disputed by China, the Philippines and Taiwan.
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In April 2012, the Philippines attempted to arrest Chinese fishermen fishing illegally in the shoal.
Standoff
This led to a standoff between the Philippine Navy and Chinese maritime surveillance vessels. The standoff lasted two months and ended with the Philippine boats withdrawing from the shoal.
China has continued to control the shoal since then.
Acting on a lawsuit filed by the Philippines against China in 2013, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague ruled in 2016 that China's nine-dash line claim to nearly the entire South China Sea has no basis.
Expanded claim
The court also designated Scarborough Shoal as a shared fishing area, and prohibited China from taking aggressive actions against Filipinos fishing in the area.
Likewise, it affirmed that the Spratly Islands, Panganiban or Mischief Reef, Ayungin or Second Thomas Shoal, and Recto or ReedBank fall within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
Beijing has consistently refused to acknowledge the court's jurisdiction or to abide by its ruling.
This month, China released a new "standard" map expanding to a 10-dash line its claim to include that part of the South China Sea located east of Taiwan.
The Philippines has lodged a protest with China over the new map as it urged Beijing to exhibit responsible behavior and to adhere to its commitments in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Countries like the United States and Japan have expressed a strong interest in peacefully resolving the Scarborough Shoal dispute.
The US, which has a mutual defense deal with the Philippines, has a strategic interest in maintaining the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.a
