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DFA seeks business sector boost in tiff with China as BFAR imposes fishing ban


Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario has appealed to the Makati Business Club (MBC) to stand by the state as it defends its territorial integrity and seeks diplomatic solutions to increasing tensions between China and the Philippines over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.
 
The chief diplomat told the MBC that “everyone needs to sacrifice" amid threats of withdrawal of some Chinese businesses from the Philippines and the lessening in the number of Chinese tourists arriving in the country. 
 
During the MBC forum in Makati on Wednesday, Del Rosario said, “We need to defend what is ours, even as we look for ways to settle disputes."
 
"Its not going to be easy, we need to get our people to bond, to unite together and to show patriotism. What is ours is ours and we need to stand for it. Everyone needs to sacrifice," stressed Del Rosario.
 
However, he assured the MBC that the government is exhausting diplomatic means to defuse tensions. 
 
The chief diplomat said that during the two plus two meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "There was no discussion of containing China.  We are of the belief that a thriving China is good for the U.S. just as a thriving U.S. is good for China.
 
Del Rosario also responded to MBC members’ concern over the negative business repercussions caused by the Scarborough standoff. He informed them that President Aquino‘s administration has received no information regarding investments being withdrawn as an effect of the territorial dispute.
 
“The President is very insightful and I think this is already on his mind on how to help people," said del Rosario.
Fishing ban  
A two-and-a half month fishing ban started at noon Wednesday in most parts of the South China Sea to rehabilitate marine resources, according to China fishery authorities.
 
The Hainan provincial marine and fishing department said all 8,994 locally-registered fishing vessels are all moored, affecting 35,611 people.
 
The annual fishing ban has been imposed since 1999. The period will last from May 16 to August 1 this year, covering areas north of the 12th parallel of north latitude, including Huangyan Island but excluding most of the Nansha Islands.
 
The provincial fishing authority said fishing vessels with Nansha Islands fishing permits are mandated to install and switch on vessel positioning equipment so that they would not accidentally enter the banned waters.
 
The fishing ban is also applicable to foreign ships.
 
A spokesman from the South China Fishery Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture said earlier this week that fishing activity of foreign ships in the banned areas will be seen as a "blatant encroachment on China's fishery resources."
 
The Philippines also announced fishing ban right after China's ban. The spokesman of the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs said the time period of the Philippines' fishing ban is identical with that of China's, adding that the areas subjecting to fishing ban also include the Huangyan Island.
“If a fishing closure will contribute to a better situation, we are to impose such. Besides, it will also help regenerate the dwindling population of fishes within and in the nearby waters of the Island,” Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources director Atty. Asis Perez said Wednesday.   “Fishing in the Panatag Island is not what we exactly recommend to our small fishermen. The island is too distant for small fishermen equipped only with the traditional bancas,” Perez pointed out.
Lasting solution  
Del Rosario said Japan, Australia, South Korea, the United States and the European Union have all taken the position that the Philippines and China should validate their respective claims based on international laws, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. 
 
The DFA chief added, “The standoff which ensued remains until this time. It is our belief that through continuing consultations, the crisis there could be defused peacefully."
 
Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Manila emailed a statement by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei. The statement maintained that disputes regarding the Huangyan island (China’s name for the Scarborough Shoal) should be confined to diplomatic negotiations.  
 
He urged the Department of Foreign Affairs “to refrain from any practice that may magnify and complicate the situation." — with Reuters/DVM/ELR, GMA News
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