Philippines’ Marcos Jnr hails ‘progress’ on South China Sea fishing ban talks with Beijing

Name: The Philippines anchors buoys in disputed South China Sea to counter Beijing’s claims
Uploaded: 2023-06-21T06:17:54.000Z
Duration: 3 min 47 s
Description: The Philippines anchors buoys in disputed South China Sea to counter Beijing’s claims

The Philippine president said he was coordinating with China to ensure its annual moratorium on fishing wasn’t unilaterally imposed without notice

He also sought to play down a recent incident involving a Chinese vessel shadowing a Filipino one in the waterway, framing it as an easing of tensions

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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said the country could “make a plan” for China’s fishing ban by giving fisherfolk “another livelihood” or source of income. Photo: AP

SCMP’s Asia desk

Published: 2:17pm, 21 Jun 2023

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr says his government and Beijing have made “progress” on navigating a unilateral fishing ban imposed by the Asian giant in the contested South China Sea that has threatened the livelihoods of local fisherfolk.

The annual restrictions have been in place in the resource-rich waterway, which encompasses the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, for more than two decades – despite a 2016 UN-backed tribunal ruling that found the Southeast Asian nation has a sovereign right to fish there. China has refused to recognise the decision.

Marcos Jnr also sought to soft-pedal on the issue of a Chinese coastguard vessel reportedly shadowing a Philippine boat last week while it was on its way to deliver supplies to fishermen on Thitu Island, one of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea currently under Manila’s jurisdiction.

He framed it as a sign of easing hostilities on the high seas.

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The Philippines anchors buoys in disputed South China Sea to counter Beijing’s claims

“The latest report is it was just followed. Not like before when it was being blocked. So there’s little progress there,” Marcos Jnr said, adding he was coordinating with China to ensure its fishing embargo is not enacted without notice.