China’s recently announced policy of detaining “trespassers” in the disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea is a source of worry since it is an escalation of an already volatile situation, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday.

Marcos expressed concern over the new policy that will affect Filipino fishermen in the disputed waters.

China, which is involved in maritime sovereignty disputes with the Philippines and other claimant nations, will implement the new rules starting 15 June.

The rules enforce a 2021 Coast Guard law allowing the detention of “trespassers” in the waters within China’s so-called nine-dash line boundaries.

“The new policy of threatening to detain our citizens, that is different,” Marcos said. “That is an escalation of the situation. So, yes, this is now very worrisome.”

Marcos also cited China’s unilateral imposition of a four-month fishing ban, including in parts of the disputed WPS, calling it an extension of their “expansive claims.”

The Chief Executive acknowledged the practice of seasonal fishing bans but emphasized the lack of a prior agreement with China on this specific measure.

“It’s just an extension, again, of their claim that this is all the maritime territory of China. It’s nothing new,” Marcos said.

“Sometimes there are fishing bans because it’s the season, but this is something that we had not agreed upon before,” he added.

The Philippines has long contested China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, which includes the resource-rich West Philippine Sea. Filipino fishermen have reported being harassed by Chinese vessels in the contested waters, hindering their livelihood.

Marcos said the Philippines will try everything to address the South China Sea row peacefully.

“Any contact, I will use it at every level leader... as long as it gives us progress in terms of resolving...and stopping aggressive actions,” Marcos said.

Beijing asserts its jurisdiction over most of the South China Sea, a crucial waterway for over $3 trillion in annual maritime trade.

In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal ruled that China’s extensive claims lacked basis under international law, a decision that Beijing rejected.

China maintains that historical records and old maps establish its sovereignty over most of the sea and many of its islands.

Out of its mind

China is “out of its mind” for imposing a unilateral fishing ban in the South China Sea, including areas within the country’s exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea, a Navy official said on Wednesday.

“China is out of tune, out of step, and out of its mind,” Navy spokesperson for the WPS, Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, said during a regular press briefing at Philippine Army headquarters in Taguig City.

Trinidad stressed that China’s “unilateral” implementation of a four-month fishing moratorium in the SCS is “illegal and against international law.”

“All actions of China that will threaten our national sovereignty, our territorial integrity, and the welfare of the Filipino people will only serve to strengthen the Philippine Navy’s and the AFP’s resolve to perform its mandate,” Trinidad said.

“This will further serve as a unifying call, not only for the entire armed forces but for all Filipinos as well,” he continued.

He assured that the Philippines has countermeasures in place should China’s unilateral policy provoke heightened tension in the WPS.

“Not only the Philippine Navy, but the AFP, will fully support the actions of the other maritime law enforcement agencies, especially the Coast Guard and BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources),” Trinidad said.

“Rest assured that we have sufficient contingency plans in place if the situations will escalate,” he added.

Lawfare strategy

Beijing has been implementing an annual fishing ban in the SCS “for supposed ecological conservation purposes.”

This year’s ban began on 1 May and is expected to end on 16 September.

According to Trinidad, China’s fishing ban in the WPS started on 1 February 2021.

Since then, Trinidad noted, China has not arrested any Filipino fishermen or those from other claimant countries in the SCS such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and even Indonesia.

“The pronouncement of the ban has been there since 2021. They have announced a four-month fishing ban. But the implementation has not yet been put into effect,” he added.

Earlier this month, China ordered its coast guard to arrest supposed trespassers in the SCS “without trial.”

Trinidad said China’s directive was only for “narrative, deception, and lawfare purposes.”

“Today’s warfare is more on narratives, more on deception. It is part of the lawfare of China,” he said.

“The lawfare is one of the instruments in their cookbook — the ultimate goal of China is to control the South China Sea.”

Continue fishing

Trinidad assured Filipino fishermen that they were still free to fish in their traditional grounds in the WPS despite China’s ban.

“To our countrymen, particularly those residing in Bajo de Masinloc, I would like to say that the Philippine Navy and the entire Armed Forces are fully supportive of your actions, of your livelihood, which has been a traditional source of income. Don’t be scared, just continue and the AFP and the entire government are behind you,” Trinidad said.

Earlier this week, the Philippines opposed and criticized China’s move and called it a “provocation.”

It added that Beijing’s actions violated international law and undermined the Philippines’ sovereignty and maritime rights.

“The problem in the WPS cannot be solved by military solutions, it involves the entire government to include our Filipino people to address a particular situation or issues in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

DFA sounds off

The DFA protested, through a diplomatic note, China’s imposition of a four-month-long fishing ban in the SCS.

The DFA cited Paragraph 716 of the Arbitral Award, which is “final and binding,” that states that China, by promulgating its fishing moratorium “without exception for areas of the South China Sea falling within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines and without limiting the moratorium to Chinese flagged vessels, is in breach of Article 56 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”