By Manny Mogato
The Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) deployed several vessels to two strategic shoals in the West Philippine Sea to help local fishermen improve their catch.
A total of 20 “payao” or traditional fish aggregating devices were floated around Hasa-Hasa and Kanduli shoals, which are only about 50 to 55 nautical miles from the coasts of southern Palawan.
Known internationally as Half Moon Shoal and Royal Captain Shoal, these rocky outcrops have been known as traditional fishing grounds for Filipinos and other Southeast Asian fishermen for decades.
In the past, Filipinos bartered turtles, fish, and other marine products to the Chinese traders who brought cigarettes and other consumer goods.
These shoals are within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which means the country has jurisdiction and the right to economically explore and exploit the resources.
China, Taiwan, and Vietnam have sovereignty claims over these shoals, but only Beijing is actively pursuing the claims because the features are too far to reach from Taiwan and Vietnam and they were rarely visited by their fishermen.
What is China’s interest in these shoals?
China has excessive and illegal claims over almost the entire South China Sea, including the Philippines’ maritime zones, known as the West Philippine Sea.
Thus, Beijing sent its Navy, Coast Guard, and hundreds of militia vessels to physically control disputed reefs, shoals, atolls, and adjacent waters to assert its claims.
When China learned about the Philippine Coast Guard and fisheries boats’ presence in Hasa-Hasa and Kanduli, it dispatched some coast guard vessels to monitor the Philippine activities.
This is not new. China has had active interests in Hasa-Hasa Shoal for decades.
In 2014, the Philippine Navy arrested 11 Chinese fishermen in Hasa-Hasa shoal when a naval patrol chanced upon a vessel carrying hundreds of sea turtles, believed to be poached in Philippine areas.
It was the last time the Philippines had arrested Chinese fishermen in disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea.
For the first time in 2014, a consul from the Chinese embassy in Manila flew to Puerto Princesa to work for the release of the 11 fishermen.
Some of the arrested fishermen were believed to be soldiers due to their build and appearance.
Two years earlier, a Philippine Navy patrol vessel, BRP Gregorio del Pilar, seized corals and giant clams from eight Chinese fishing vessels in Bajo de Masinloc.
But the Philippine Navy failed to tow the Chinese fishing boat to Zambales because two large Chinese Coast Guard vessels came to the rescue.
It resulted in a three-month standoff with the Philippine Coast Guard but was resolved when the United States brokered a deal which China did not honor.
China now controls Bajo de Masinloc although the Philippines sends regular patrols around the shoal to guard local fishermen and assert Manila’s sovereign rights.
China has been aggressively asserting its sovereignty claim in the South China Sea, including in the West Philippine Sea, protecting areas it had physical control.
Thus, Chinese Coast Guard vessels trained water cannons, shadow, block, and perform dangerous maneuvers on other foreign vessels, including the Philippines.
It has also sent patrols close to Philippine territorial waters, about 30 nautical miles off Zambales and Palawan.
China considered the entire South China Sea as its buffer zone to push away the United States, Australia, Japan, and other powers from its shorelines.
It is like Russia preventing Ukraine from falling into the hands of the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies by becoming part of that military alliance.
How important is Hasa-Hasa to the Philippines?
After the Philippines “lost” Bajo de Masinloc to the Chinese, Manila rushed to protect other features which China might be targeting to control and take over.
However, it cannot build artificial islands or build structures on any uninhabited features in the South China Sea because of the 2002 Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), an informal code of conduct.
In 2014, if Hasa-Hasa Shoal had been only near where Chinese Coast Guard vessels were stationed, it could have saved the 11 Chinese fishermen, and a similar standoff incident could have happened.
Hasa-Hasa is the closest feature in the West Philippine Sea to southern Palawan, guarding the passage to Philippine waters to cross into the Pacific Ocean from the South China Sea.
China’s People Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, including its conventional carrier, used to pass by the Sibutu passage to Surigao Straits and into the Pacific Ocean.
There could be Chinese and American submarines playing hide-and-seek beneath those waters.
The Philippines has been developing an air and naval base on Balabac Island to guard the strategic chokepoint in the Sibutu and Palawan passage.
It has been identified as one of nine Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites.
Hasa-Hasa and Kanduli shoals are vital to the Philippines’ national security interest. These shoals are as important as Ayungin and Bajo de Masinloc for the country’s security and economic interests, a lifeblood for local fishermen.
Equally important are the Escoda (Sabina) shoal and Recto (Reed) bank, which are not only military strategic, but could potentially hold rich deposits of energy resources.
Is Hasa-Hasa shoal a potential flashpoint?
Given its location near the Palawan Passage, Hasa-Hasa shoal could potentially become a flashpoint similar to Bajo de Masinloc, which is near Subic Bay, a major Philippine Navy operating base which is increasingly important to the United States because of its deep, natural harbor.
It is ideal for US carriers, destroyers, and submarines.
However, Hasa-Hasa has dangerous corals that could be hazardous to military vessels.
In July 2012, a Chinese frigate ran aground in Hasa-Hasa but was towed away by a Chinese salvage ship.
China could not afford to station a Chinese vessel thousands of miles away, worrying on how to sustain it similar to BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.
In 2018, BRP Gregorio del Pilar also ran aground in Hasa-Hasa shoal but was removed days later.
The presence of Filipino fishermen with fish aggregating devices would establish Philippine presence in the strategic shoals — a wise move from the Philippines.
What is important is to have a physical presence in a disputed area.
The views expressed by the columnist do not necessarily reflect that of the media organization.
