Conviction of 9 Chinese poachers will not affect PHL-China ties –DFA

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday defended a local court’s decision to convict nine Chinese fishermen of poaching in Philippine waters, but stressed it will not strain Manila's ties with Beijing.

Philippine authorities arrested the fishermen in May off Hasa-Hasa Shoal, the Philippines’ name for the rocky outcrop within its territorial waters also known by its international name, Half Moon Shoal.

“I think laws were broken so we are merely enforcing our laws,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters.

The conviction of the fishermen is feared to further stoke tensions between Manila and Beijing, which have been locked in years-long territorial dispute over resource-rich areas in the South China Sea.

However, Del Rosario believes the court’s decision should not cause any damage to the Philippines' ties with China.

“I don’t think so,” Del Rosario said when asked if the court decision will strain relations between the two Asian neighbors.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose echoed Del Rosario’s position that the issue is “purely a law enforcement matter.”

“We don’t expect this to affect our bilateral relations,” Jose said.

Philippine authorities found a huge haul of endangered giant sea turtles in the Chinese crew’s vessel, many of them dead and beheaded.

A Palawan court had fined each of the fishermen $100,000 and asked them to pay additional P120,000 for catching endangered species.

China also lays claim to Hasa-Hasa, but the DFA maintained the shoal is part of the Philippines' Kalayaan Island Group and within its Exclusive Economic Zone.

Manila has adopted the name West Philippine Sea for some parts of the resource-rich waters that fall within its EEZ, a UN-mandated zone that gives the country the sole right to explore and exploit resources in the area.  

China claims almost 90 percent South China Sea, an assertion that triggered serious concern from its smaller neighbors and other South China Sea claimants like the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan as it overlaps with their territories.

Manila filed a case against China before a Netherlands-based arbitral tribunal to try to declare its huge claim baseless and to clarify the Philippines' maritime entitlements under international law.  —KBK, GMA News