“Pres. Duterte should not beat around the bush and directly ask China two important things concerning our sovereign rights. One is the most doable and could be achieved in a shortest term, which is to respect the rights of our Filipino fi shermen in Scarborough Shoal,” said the Kilusang Pamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya).
It said “the second one could be the fruit of our good and successive relations with China in the future which is to stop their reclamation activities in our waters that damage the reefs and other marine life.”
“Scarborough Shoal, which is a part of the country’s exclusive economic zone remains off limits to Filipino fishermen despite the international arbitration’s final verdict on July 12 rejecting China’s claim on the almost 90 percent of the South China Sea,” said Pamalakaya chair Fernando Hicap.
Hicap lamented the President’s earlier statement that he would focus only in investments and trade during his China visit and that he would not even bring up the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea.
The fisherfolk group said “Pres. Duterte should not be bribed with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) investments and projects in exchange for a complete surrender of the West Philippine Sea. He should not let China use the AIIB to push its agenda and claim in our waters.”
“We see no problem with Pres. Duterte’s exploration with China regarding economic policies but this should not become an advantage for the new investors to take control of us and even put our territory and sovereignty at stake. It should remain equal and beneficial to the Filipino people,” Hicap said.
He said “we still expect Pres. Duterte to resolve the issue of the West Philippine Sea dispute after his four-day trip to China and regain our control in the disputed waters for the use of our fisherfolk.”
