De Lima urges gov't to 'strongly condemn' China's harassment of Pinoy fishermen 

Senator Leila de Lima on Monday said the government should “strongly condemn” China’s harassment of Filipino fishermen in Union Bank.

In a statement from Camp Crame where she is currently detained for drug-related charges, De Lima said the incident, as told by Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano, is a “worrisome development.”

"This incident mirrors China's newfound daring and boldness to discard of the conventional coast guard actions in enforcing its territorial claims. Such escalates the situation in the Spratlys, and should be strongly condemned by the Philippine government," De Lima said.

"The real potential threat is staring us in the face, and government's indecisiveness in dealing with this threat that China brings to our national security could lead us to a tipping point where we could lose our rights to these maritime territories by default," she added.

A critic of the Duterte administration, De Lima said the government "should neither wait indecisively, nor continue kowtowing to China, while China continues to chip away at our rights and on our hold on these territories."

"At the very least, our leaders must demand respect from their Chinese counterparts," she added.

Alejano said Filipino fishermen were harassed last week not by a Chinese Coast Guard speedboat but by a Chinese Navy ship in Mariveles, Bataan.

Alejano revealed this after visiting some of the local fishermen there over the weekend, following recent reports that quoted a group of them as claiming that a Chinese Coast Guard speedboat circled them near Union Reef and made warning shots to drive them away.

"According to initial reports, it was the Chinese Coast Guard that was involved in the Union Bank incident. However, in our meeting with the fishermen themselves, we were able to know that it was actually a Chinese Navy ship," he said in a statement.

Quoting the fishermen, Alejano said they saw a gray speed boat at Union Bank, carrying a crew of seven officers wearing camouflage that "resembles" that of the China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy.

The fishermen also noted that the crew of the said speed boat were “Chinese-looking people who were speaking in a language not understandable to them,” and a “big gray ship was nearby watching over,” he added. —Kathrina Charmaine Alvarez/KBK, GMA News