Palace satisfied with ‘friendly agreement’ on Panatag

MANILA, Philippines – No need for a written document; Malacañang is satisfied with a “friendly agreement” with China that has enabled Filipino fishermen to return unmolested to Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal after four years of Chinese blockade.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said there was no formal agreement with China on the lifting of its blockade of the shoal and that the development was a result of President Duterte’s recent state visit to Beijing.

“Let’s just put it this way. The fishermen are back to fishing again. And I think at this particular stage, we can say the President has said, he has done his part in saying, ‘Just wait, and you can go back to fish there again’,” Abella said.

But he declined to give details of the “friendly agreement” like how long it would hold.

“Well, presently… it’s going by the friendly agreement that has been raised. So we’ll proceed along that line,” Abella said.

Asked when the Philippines intends to bring up the July 9 ruling by an international tribunal invalidating China’s expansive maritime claim, Abella said it would be done “when necessary,” as the President had said.

“At this stage, we’re not talking guarantees, we’re just going by the fact that they, the fishermen, can now just go,” he pointed out.

He said at present it’s good enough that Filipinos can do their business at the shoal without being shooed away by the Chinese.

“According to the present arrangement, they just go and fish,” he said.

Rep. Harry Roque also said recent developments at Panatag have shown the Duterte administration’s success in dealing with China and in advancing the interest of local fishermen.

He said the antagonistic approach by the previous Aquino administration in dealing with China apparently did not work.

“Clearly, the opposite tack pursued by Aquino and (former DFA) secretary Albert del Rosario did not work. Del Rosario should give credit where it is due, particularly since he and president Aquino failed where President Duterte succeeded,” Roque pointed out.

“Secretary Del Rosario had a chance to help our fishermen resume their livelihood and failed. President Duterte’s new engagement with China led to the resumption of our fishermen’s livelihood,” Roque, a former UP professor, said.

The first-term congressman from party-list Kabayan said Aquino and administration critics should “just admit that the foreign policy being pursued by President Duterte is proving to be a more effective one.”

He also commended former president Fidel Ramos for helping thaw relations with Beijing. Ramos resigned recently as special envoy to China, saying he had already completed his task.

“While I respect president Ramos’ decision to resign, I believe it would be better for him to stay on so we can benefit from his wisdom. I also agree that talks can now be undertaken by the DFA and President Duterte given our friendlier ties with China,” Roque said.

The lawmaker is in Takushoku University in Tokyo to represent the Philippines in a conference on the court ruling on the South China Sea dispute.

Restrictions stay

Aerial image, however, released by a Washington-based maritime transparency advocacy group shows Filipino fishermen are still barred from entering the inner lagoon of Panatag as a large Chinese coast guard vessel is guarding its mouth.

The image, shown in an article published by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), showed several Filipino fishing boats around the shoal and none inside the lagoon.

“New imagery from Oct. 29 showed a CCG vessel anchored just inside the mouth of the lagoon, where it has been for most of the period since China seized the shoal in 2012, apparently blocking access,” read an article (https://amti.csis.org/china-scarborough-fishing/) published by AMTI.

At least two other “non-government” Chinese vessels were visible in the image.

Filipino fishermen began returning to Panatag unmolested by the Chinese, days after President Duterte returned last Oct. 21 from a state visit to Beijing where he and his counterpart Xi Jinping discussed the dispute over territories in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea.

The article said the image corroborates reports that Filipinos could only fish “outside” the lagoon.

“This suggests that the ‘friendly understanding’ President Duterte negotiated during his trip to Beijing was only for Chinese authorities to relax the stricter blockade of the reef that they put in place following the July 12 arbitral ruling,” said the AMTI, referring to the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague.

“This would be a return to the status quo that has existed for much of the last four years, not the pre-2012 status quo in which Philippine fishermen regularly entered Scarborough Shoal,” the article stated.

The AMTI was established by Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

It aims to provide an objective platform for exchange of ideas with regard to maritime security issues in Asia.

Beijing has supposedly relaxed its blockade of the shoal, which it seized in 2012.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier said that based on surveillance photos, Filipino fishermen could drop nets in the area even in the presence of Chinese vessels. – With Delon Porcalla, Janvic Mateo, Edu Punay, Jaime Laude