As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. begins his three-day visit to China, Filipino fishermen battered by years of territorial disputes in the South China Sea are hoping for unfettered access to a resource-rich lagoon that they claim is guarded by the China Coast Guard.
President Marcos traveled to Beijing on Tuesday, his first state visit outside of Southeast Asia, with the goal of boosting bilateral relations and trade. He will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top leaders to discuss collaboration in the fields of infrastructure, tourism, renewable energy, and agriculture.
One of the agreements that the Philippines seeks to sign with Beijing is one that aims to minimize misunderstandings over the South China Sea's disputed waters, which might ease tensions over the two countries' most contentious conflict.
China's activities in the South China Sea, notably Beijing's assertions of sovereignty over several of the region's islands and waterways, have led to ongoing disputes between the two sides.
However, Mr. Victor Andres Manhit, managing director of strategic advisory firm BowerGroupAsia, claimed that President Marcos confronts a "hard balancing act" with Beijing, particularly on maritime problems.
One such region is the Scarborough Shoal, a 150 sq km triangle of reefs and rocks where the Philippines and China engaged in a heated standoff in 2012. The dispute prompted the Philippines to file a petition before an arbitral tribunal, which decided in 2016 that China's claim that the nine-dash line encompassed its territory was unlawful.
Additionally, it was decided that the shoal, which is abundant in marine resources, is a popular fishing location for small-scale and artisanal fishermen. China's Coast Guard continues to have access control to Scarborough's coveted inner lagoon, which is noted for its abundant catches, despite the international panel's decision.
The Chinese are permitted to bring their larger fishing boats into the lagoon, but the Filipinos are only permitted to bring smaller boats. In order to get their smaller boats to the lagoon's vicinity and continue their journey there, the Filipinos employ motherships or base ships.
Filipino fisherman Joseph Daruca, 51, noted that in addition to other difficulties, each small boat needs around three hours and four liters of diesel to sail from the lagoon to the mothership in each direction. They take turns eating or sleeping while traveling back and forth from the lagoon to their base ship every two to four hours, he continued.
"It is better if they (China Coast Guard) are not there, so our mothership can enter (the lagoon) and we won't waste diesel. We travel 15 miles (24km) each time we go back to the ship. Such a waste," Mr. Daruca said.
