PCG disputes China’s account of ‘humanitarian aid’ to Pinoy fisher in WPS

The Chinese Embassy in Manila on Friday said a Chinese Navy ship supposedly helped a Filipino fisherman in the West Philippine Sea on Christmas Day but the Philippine Coast Guard rejected this account. 

In a statement, the Embassy said Chinese Navy ship 174 “provided swift humanitarian assistance to a distressed Philippine fishing vessel in the South China Sea.”

The Chinese warship also “delivered essential food and water to the fisherman who had been stranded for three days due to engine failure,” it added.

According to the Chinese embassy, follow-up support was coordinated with the PCG.

However, PCG spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela said that his agency has not received prior information from the Chinese Navy regarding the location or condition of the fisherman.

“Second, the fisherman was safely moored to a Floating Aggregate Device (FAD) or “payao” and awaiting pickup by their mother boat. Claim that he had been adrift for three days is inaccurate,” Tarriela said.

“The service boat departed on a fishing trip on December 24 around 3:00 p.m., and the fisherman was located by the PCG and the mother boat the following afternoon—less than 24 hours later,” he added.

Tarriela also pointed out that the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) destroyer of China had no legitimate reason to operate within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 

The incident occurred 71 nautical miles west of Silanguin Island, Zambales.

Tarriela said the fisherman told authorities that he became frightened when the Chinese Navy warship 174 launched a rigid-hulled inflatable boat. Due to this, the fisher used carbon deposits scraped from the tip of his engine's exhaust pipe to write "HELP ME."

“Finally, we hope this incident is not exploited as propaganda by China. Instead, it should serve as recognition that Filipino fishermen have full rights to fish in the waters around Bajo de Masinloc,” Tarriela said.

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Parts of the South China Sea that fall within Philippine territory have been renamed by the government as West Philippine Sea to reinforce the country’s claim.

The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago including Luzon Sea and the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

China has refused to recognize the decision. —AOL, GMA Integrated News