Civil society coalition Atin Ito on Saturday criticized China’s publicized assistance to a distressed Filipino fisher on Christmas Day, calling it a “propaganda-driven” act that does not negate alleged violations in the West Philippine Sea.

In a statement, Atin Ito co-convenor Rafaela David said the coalition recognizes the obligation under international maritime law to assist individuals in distress at sea, but questioned the intent behind China’s actions.

“We recognize the universal duty to assist people in distress at sea. But what China did was not humanitarianism, it is image management,” David said, adding that the incident should not distract from what the group described as years of harassment and illegal incursions by Chinese vessels in waters claimed by the Philippines.

It is propaganda-driven assistance meant to distract us from years of harassment, violence, and illegal incursions,” she further stressed. 

David also disputed China’s account of the incident, noting that Chinese authorities claimed the fisher had been missing for three days. 

She cited the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) clarification that the fisher had been anchored to a payao for less than 24 hours while awaiting retrieval by his mother boat.

The Atin Ito official raised concerns over the presence of Chinese vessels in the area, questioning why they were patrolling within what the Philippines considers its Exclusive Economic Zone.

Atin Ito warned against what it described as attempts to portray a single act of assistance as evidence of goodwill, pointing to recent incidents in the West Philippine Sea, including reported water-cannoning and coercive maneuvers by China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels that allegedly damaged Filipino fishing boats near Escoda Shoal.

“Propaganda-driven assistance does not negate violations of international law or erase repeated acts of harassment,” David said, stressing that humanitarian acts should not be used to justify continued presence or activities in disputed waters.

“Basic humanity is not a bargaining chip. Our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and territorial integrity in the West Philippine Sea are not for sale, and the Filipino people will not be gaslit into gratitude for an obvious PR spectacle from a foreign aggressor,” she added. 

The group reiterated its position that Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea remain non-negotiable, and urged the public to view highly publicized incidents in the context of broader developments in the area.

Meanwhile, PCG spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela slams what he called CCG’s “PR stunt” aimed at exaggerating the story of a distressed fisherman. 

“They also want to appear as if they were helping the government, claiming they contacted the PCG to assist the fisherman, when in fact, they didn’t,” Tarriela said during a radio interview on Saturday. 

Earlier, Tarriela raised “critical points” over what China described as a humanitarian act by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) toward a Filipino fisherman off the coast of Zambales. 

The PCG official lamented that China’s claims surrounding the incident were “inaccurate and misleading.”

In a Facebook post, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said a PLAN warship provided food and water to a Filipino fisherman on 25 December after he was allegedly stranded at sea for three days due to engine failure.