These Filipino fishing boats are waiting in line to receive fuel subsidies from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources boat, BRP Datu Sanday. We are not like China that uses fishing vessels as part of its gray zone tactics to alter the status quo in the West Philippine Sea. Filipino fishermen have been fishing in these waters for generations, long before the establishment of the Chinese Coast Guard. Their presence in that area is primarily driven by their need to secure a livelihood and provide sustenance for their families, and not to provoke anyone.
Moreover, there is no reason for us to justify our presence there because the Philippines has sovereignty over BDM and its territorial sea, and sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the surrounding waters falling within our EEZ as measured from the our archipelagic baselines in accordance with UNCLOS.
SIDENOTE: China Coast Guard has deployed its RHIB in the midst of the Filipino fishing boats.
