Chinese fishermen can only fish in the Scarborough Shoal after it was designated as a traditional fishing area by an international tribunal in 2016, two former senior government officials said Tuesday.
In a joint statement, former Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, both staunch China critics, said their fishing rights does not cover the entire exclusive zone of the Philippines as only Filipinos are entitled to fish in the country’s EEZ under the Constitution.
They called out President Rodrigo Duterte for entering into a “secret” fishing agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2016, giving China rights to fish within the country’s EEZ following threats of war.
“A crucial question is: why was this agreement secret and hidden from the Filipino people for nearly three years?”
“The answer can only be that this agreement manifestly contravenes our fundamental law – the Constitution,” Del Rosario and Carpio-Morales said.
Coastal nations have the right to explore, manage and exploit resources as well as undersea oil and gas deposits within their EEZ, which covers 200 nautical miles from their shores.
Duterte, who decided to shelve the 2016 arbitration ruling that denigrated Beijing’s massive sea claims, has been criticized for his friendly overtures to China despite its aggressive actions and efforts to drive away Filipinos from its own waters in the West Philippine Sea.
Scarborough Shoal is located 124 nautical miles off the nearest Philippine landmass of Palawan and 472 nautical miles from China’s nearest coastal province of Hainan.
The tribunal in The Hague ruled that no country can claim sovereign rights over the shoal, saying it is a traditional fishing ground for Filipino, Vietnamese, and Chinese fishermen. China has refused to recognize the ruling.
In his annual state of the nation address before a joint session of Congress on Monday, Duterte defended his nonconfrontational policy towards China.
“When Xi says ‘I will fish,’ who can prevent him?” Duterte said, referring to the Chinese leader.
Duterte also said he is helpless in curbing Chinese fishing in the Philippines’ EEZ, adding he will not send forces to the area as they are likely to lose in a clash with the Chinese.
“The West Philippine Sea belongs exclusively to Filipinos, not to China. We must stop giving China primacy over that of our own people. When will Filipinos be first and not last, in our own country?” they asked.
Del Rosario and Carpio-Morales explained that no presidential agreement with China or any other country can override the explicit constitutional mandate that the “use and enjoyment” of the country’s EEZ is “reserved…exclusively to Filipino citizens.”
“The agreement between President Duterte and China is therefore illegal, null and void,” they said. “Unless the Constitution is amended, no public official has the authority to grant foreigners fishing rights in our EEZ.”
