Manila Mayor Isko Moreno in GMA, Cavite. (Screengrab from a video on his Facebook)
MANILA, Philippines — A Navy frigate, not a jetski, is what Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso will use to visit Panatag Shoal to assert Philippine rights in the West Philippine Sea if he should be elected president.
“We will simply insist and we will fish in our waters,” Moreno, speaking in a mix of English and Filipino, in an ambush interview in Gitagum town in Misamis Oriental when asked about what he would do to protect fishermen at the shoal.
“If I need to be with the fisherfolks, I’ll be with them,” he added in the interview, a videotape of which was posted on Moreno’s Facebook page.
Recently, a Philippine Coast Guard ship reported that a Chinese Coast Guard ship at Panatag, also known as Scarborough, Shoal performed a dangerous “close distance maneuvering.”
Moreno was asked specifically if he would use a jetski, as President Rodrigo Duterte had promised while campaigning for the presidency in 2016.
“Not a jetski. A jetski will not reach that far. We have frigates. I’ll be there,” Moreno said.
“I don’t want to overpromise things… We will be there for our fishermen. We need to fish in our ocean, within our sovereign territory — and that includes Panatag shoal,” he continued.
Following the incident, Wang Wengbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Monday that the Philippines should “avoid interfering” with Chinese ships patrolling the area, Scarborough Shoal being an “inherent territory” of his country.
The shoal is within the Philippines’ 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone. It has no sovereignty over the shoal but sovereign rights, which means it could exclusively enjoy resources like fish and minerals within the area.
Meanwhile, a militant fishers’ group also condemned China’s recent action in Panatag Shoal.
In a statement on Tuesday, Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) insisted on the right of Filipinos to fish in the area.
“We assert to China our freedom of navigation, especially our right to fish in our territorial waters. Beijing has no right to dictate who can stay and who will be ejected from the seas if they have no legal and political claim,” Pamalakaya said.
“We warn that any untoward action from Chinese forces would be met with strong, collective, and diplomatic actions from our fisherfolks who stand side by side with patriotic Filipinos,” the group added.
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