By Ian Nicolas P. Cigaral
Reporter

CHINA’S ANNUAL moratorium on commercial fishing in waters it claims, including the disputed South China Sea where the Philippines has sovereign rights, “bear(s) watching closely,” considering the “sometimes-violent” incidents in the course of that ban’s enforcement, a US think tank said.

In a report dated July 7, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies said the fishing moratorium must be closely monitored as its expiration next month nears.

China has been imposing a unilateral ban each year since 1995 that covers both Chinese and foreign fishermen. On May 1, Beijing enforced the moratorium on waters it claims, including the South China Sea.

This year’s fishing ban applies to resource-rich Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing zone among Filipino fishermen and well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. The fishing embargo in the area will end on August 16.

While presenting a tracker of incidents from 2012 to 2017, the Washington-based think tank concluded that each year the fishing pause “sparks anger among China’s neighbors and feeds into the cycle of tensions between regional law enforcement and fishing fleets.”

AMTI also flagged what it called “sparse” reporting on the moratorium’s enforcement, adding that this could be caused by hesitation on the part of rival claimants like the Philippines and Vietnam to report on it.

“Reporting on its implementation has so far been sparse, though it is unclear if that is because Beijing is taking a gentler approach amid its current charm offensive or because regional states, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam, have been hesitant to report on incidents,” the think tank said.

“But the historical trend suggests that the ban, and its rescinding in August, bear watching closely,” it added.

Last year, a United Nations-backed tribunal — acting on a case brought by the Philippines — ruled against Beijing’s vast maritime claims on the contested South China Sea, a crucial sea channel where trillion dollars’ worth of trade passes yearly.

The tribunal also said China violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights by blocking fishing and oil exploration as well as by building artificial islands there. But China rejected the ruling and seized most parts of the strategic waterway.

Upon taking office on June 30, Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte sought warmer ties with China as his government also aimed to draw in billions of dollars in Chinese aid and investment.

Soon after his trip to Beijing last October, Chinese vessels stationed at Scarborough reportedly allowed Filipino fishermen to fish outside the lagoon.

Mr. Duterte has also said since last year he will not raise yet the arbitral award to Chinese President Xi Jinping. But last May, Mr. Duterte claimed bringing up Philippine claims over the disputed waters which he claimed, too, prompted Mr. Xi’s threat of war.

“It is unclear whether Beijing is giving Filipino fishermen at the shoal a pass during this year’s ban as part of the ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ Presidents Xi Jinping and Rodrigo Duterte reached in October,” AMTI said.

Media reports have qualified this year’s fishing ban as “stricter” than previous implementations as China imposes a longer duration on the suspension and expanded the types of fishing activities under the ban, the think tank also noted in its report.

Before the fishing ban was issued last May, a Chinese vessel on March 27 reportedly fired warning shots at Filipino fishermen to drive them away from Union Banks, a traditional fishing ground for Filipino fishermen located near a China-controlled reef.

The Philippine Foreign Affairs department said China had conducted an investigation on the matter, which “did not reveal any such incidents.

Besides China and the Philippines, Asian neighbors Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan also have active claims over the South China Sea.

Last month, AMTI reported that China continued installing weapons in its artificial islands on the South China Sea.

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