đź“· ManilaStandard
FILIPINO civilians on board wooden boats forming part of the second mission to provide supplies for local fishermen at the West Philippine Sea have aborted plans to go closer to the Scarborough Shoal after being shooed away by more than a dozen Chinese vessels.
However, Atin Ito coalition spokesman Emman Hizon assured that the mission for which they sailed had already been achieved.
Around 100 boats sailed the West Philippine Sea on Wednesday to provide fuel and food to Filipino fishermen and make a grand display of assertion of rights in a maritime area well within the 200-nautical mile Philippine exclusive economic zone being claimed by China.
The civilian mission came two weeks after two Chinese Coast Guard vessels shoved (using water cannon) two Philippine government boats near Scarborough Shoal.
Despite another Chinese aggression, Hizon categorically described the civilian mission as successful even as he claimed that an “advance team” had already distributed fuel and other assistance to Filipino fishermen about 46-56 kilometers (29-35 miles) from the disputed shoal a day before the Atin Ito mission sailed the sea.
“Atin Ito will now proceed to conduct the final leg of supply distribution in the current area, as there are no more Filipino fishers in BdM (Bajo de Masinloc),” he added.
Bajo de Masinloc is the local name of the Scarborough Shoal.
The Chinese foreign ministry earlier warned the convoy against any attempt to infringe on Beijing’s “indisputable sovereignty” over the Scarborough Shoal.
An earlier report hinted at 19 Chinese vessels – including a warship and eight coast guard — circling and tracking the civilian mission.
For over a decade, the Scarborough Shoal, which is only about 240 kilometers away from mainland Luzon, has become a potential flashpoint since China forcibly took control of the area during the Aquino presidency.To date, China is in control of seven artificial islands which have been transformed into military bases. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
