CLARK FREEPORT — A fishers’ group said yesterday that the recent ramming of a fishing boat by a Chinese vessel and leaving 22 Filipino fishermen in the waters at the Reed Bank “summed up all our fears” over the continuing presence of Chinese boats “in our traditional fishing grounds.”
“Chinese nationals aboard the vessel that hit the Filipino fishing boat should be held accountable not only for causing the boat to sink, but also for leaving 22 Filipino fishermen abandoned after the incident. It was a hit and run case in the seas,” the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas Pamalakaya) said in a statement.
The group said the incident was ““the sum of all our fears: the continuing presence of Chinese vessels in our traditional fishing grounds would lead to more bullying and harassment of our fisherfolk, without accountability.”
Reed Bank is also known as Reed Tablemount, Recto Bank, and several other names. It is a large tablemount in the South China Sea northeast of Dangerous Ground and the Spratly Islands. It covers an area of 8,866 square kilometres.
“China deserves a strong condemnation for what happened to the Filipino fishers who were only fishing in our own territory. We will investigate and look into this matter to assess the damages that this Chinese vessel has inflicted towards our fisherfolk and demand them to pay for their damage,” said Bobby Roldan, spokesperson of Pamalakaya chapter in Bataan.
Pamalakaya also urged the Duterte administration “to protest the recent bullying incident and give justice to the Filipino fisherfolk.”
“The Duterte government should not let this crucial issue pass, and instead file a diplomatic protest against China,” Roldan said.
