Wait a Few More Days, Says Duterte to Shoal Fishermen

MANILA: Filipino fishermen may be able to return to the Chinese-held Scarborough Shoal in a few days, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said without providing any details.

He said he discussed the territorial rift with Chinese leaders, but did not mention if China has imposed conditions, reported Philippine News Agency.

Duterte reportedly said that in talks during his trip to Beijing this past week, he insisted that the shoal off his country’s northwestern coast belonged to the Philippines, but added that the Chinese also asserted their claim of ownership.

If Filipinos could sail back to Scarborough, a traditional fishing ground and storm shelter, Duterte was quoted as saying that they would be prohibited from fishing inside a sprawling lagoon that is a fish spawning ground that should be protected.

“We’ll just wait for a few more days. We may be able to return to Scarborough Shoal, the fishing by our countrymen,” Duterte reportedly said in a speech in the northern city of Tuguegarao, where he visited after the region was lashed by a super typhoon.

Considering the delicate role of Scarborough’s shallow lagoon, which is a spawning area for tuna and other fish, “I myself said that if we’re able to sail back to Scarborough Shoal as its owner — and they insist they are also the owner — I myself will say, ‘Don’t fish there,’” Duterte was quoted as saying by Manila Times.

“What I know is he has also asked the Chinese fishermen to go away so there won’t be anybody who’ll be seen there,” he said without identifying the Chinese leader he talked with. “That’s what we discussed. I’m not sure if they’ll fulfill that.”

(Source: FilipinoTimes.ae)