The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) sees Beijing's imposition of a "unilateral" policy in the South China Sea as an "empty threat."

"There's no reason for Filipino fishermen to be afraid. For us, this is just an empty threat on the part of the China Coast Guard," PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Jay Tarriela, said in a television interview on Wednesday.

By imposing their "illegal policy," Tarriela said China only intends to discourage Filipino fisherfolks from continuing their activities in their traditional fishing grounds in the WPS. 

He added that China also intends to discourage other civil society organizations from joining or conducting civilian missions in the WPS.

BFAR likewise noted that China's declaration of the fishing ban "has no legal basis."

Meanwhile, Tarriela noted a significant decrease in the presence of Chinese vessels in the Bajo de Masinloc also known as Panatag or Scarborough Shoal. 

"As we monitored the number of vessels that they have monitored since the Atin Ito convoy, it has decreased tremendously the number of vessels so we can conclude that the enforcement of such fishing ban and the upcoming regulations that they have mentioned is not actually for real or it's just an empty threat," Tarriela in a separate interview over the ANC's Digital channel.