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Philippine fishermen protest Chinese harvesting of giant clams on Scarborough Shoal in further South China Sea dispute
- The fishermen say Beijing has ignored a previous protest and the activities of Chinese vessels are severely damaging the environment
- Claims come as China insists Chinese vessel’s collision with Filipino boat was an accident and it had not tried to rescue fishermen for fear of being besieged
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Beijing has ignored a protest from Manila asking Chinese fishermen to cease harvesting giant clams from the Scarborough Shoal, a group of Filipino fishermen claimed Friday, as bilateral tensions rise anew over the sinking of a Philippine fishing boat by a suspected Chinese trawler.
According to Nards Cuaresman – president of local fishermen in the town of Masinloc in Zambales, a province close to the mineral-rich South China Sea – the so-called Chinese maritime militia is using propellers mounted on small boats to break corals and dig into the 150 sq km lagoon. The clams are later brought aboard a larger vessel.
“They were also using an underwater hammer. They smashed coral reefs just to get the giant clams. If the government will not do something, then in the next two years, all the swathes of coral and the population of giant clam will be gone,” he said.
Despite a diplomatic protest filed by the Philippines earlier this year, Cuaresman said, the Chinese maritime militia continued to collect clams in the shoal, known as Huangyan Island in China and Pantag Shoal in the Philippines.
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Moreover, contrary to what the Chinese government says, Cuaresma said local fishermen cannot freely fish in the Scarborough Shoal, citing the Chinese Coast guards who were “always blocking and harassing” them.
“Our small fishing boats can only sneak in if there is bad weather,” he said.
Manila had earlier protested the presence of more than 200 Chinese ships from January to March this year off the Philippine-occupied Pag-asa Island in the South China Sea.
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