Phl protests China's fishing ban in SCS

Manila protested yesterday China's imposition of a unilateral fishing ban in areas in the South China Sea that cover even the Philippines' territorial waters. The ban is expected to last until Sept. 16.

- PIA LEE-BRAGO

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued a note verbale, saying it was protesting the ban "insofar as it includes the Philippines' maritime zones over which the Philippines has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction." "The Philippines protested the People's Republic of China's imposition of a unilateral, four-month-long fishing moratorium on 01 May 2024 in areas of the South China Sea north of the 12 degrees North latitude," the DFA said in a statement.

The Chinese embassy did not comment on the protest.

Based on paragraph 716 of the 2016 arbitral ruling on the South China Sea, Chinese fishing moratorium in areas stretching to the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, and not limited to Chinese-flagged vessels, is a breach of Article 56 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) "with respect to the Philippines' sovereign rights over the living resources of its exclusive economic zone."

"The Philippines stressed that the unilateral imposition of the fishing moratorium raises tensions in the West Philippine Sea and the South

China Sea, and directly contravenes the understanding between President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping to manage differences through diplomacy and dialogue and to de-escalate the situation at sea," the DFA said.