Circumstances favor the 220 Chinese fishing militia vessels. At once the Chinese embassy claimed that the vessels are merely sheltering from storm. Three weeks later the Chinese trawlers are still “sheltering” at Julian Felipe. Fishers in neighboring Senegal and Ghana are protesting the deluge of registrations by Chinese fishing craft. Mere entry of foreign fishing vessels in Philippine jurisdiction is poaching under the Fisheries Code (RA 8550).

Source: Philippine Star March 25, 2021 15:56 UTC