The Philippines is acquiring nearly 100 patrol boats to step up crackdowns on what fishery officials describe as “poachers from Taiwan and China,” local media quoted the Fisheries Development Authority as saying Monday.
The media quoted Asis Perez, the country’s top fisheries official, as saying his government has ordered over 70 short-range and nearly 30 mid- and long-range patrol vessels, which will be delivered by the end of the year.
The Philippines currently has only 20 patrol boats to patrol its 36,000 kilometers of coastline.
During the past two months, Taiwanese fishing boats have entered the Philippines’ “law enforcement” waters in the northern part of the country at least five times.
Though international law defines territorial as 12-nautical miles from a coastline, the Philippines enforces a 24 nautical-mile zone.
Two Taiwanese boats had been detained, causing stand-offs between the patrol boats from the two countries inside the Philippines’ contiguous zones.
In waters off western Philippines’ Palawan province, there have been reports of Chinese fishing boats being caught poaching in Philippine waters and being detained.
In 2013, Philippine navy ships arrested Chinese fishing boats near Scarborough Shoal, some 100 nautical miles from Subic Bay, leading to a two-month standoff between Coast Guard ships of the two countries.
The Philippines later lost control of the shoal and nearby waters to Chinese encroachment.
Once foreign fishing boats enter waters within 24 nautical miles of the Philippines contiguous zone, an area contiguous to its territorial sea, they are subject to inspection or even detention, a Philippine official has said, citing an administrative decree issued by the country in 2014.
Taiwan, however, does not consider the Philippines’ claim of rights in a contiguous zone of 24 nautical miles as compliant with international law and sees the area of between 12-24 nautical miles off the Philippines as part of an exclusive economic zone in which Taiwanese fishing boats can operate legally.
Until both sides reach an agreement on the issue, Taiwan’s Coast Guard will continue its efforts to protect Taiwanese fishing boats operating in such areas, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said.
Despite their differences on the scope of law enforcement, Taiwan and the Philippines will soon sign an agreement on guidelines for cooperative law enforcement in their overlapping economic waters, a foreign ministry official said.
Taiwan and the Philippines have been negotiating an agreement on maritime law enforcement cooperation since late 2013. It was one of the steps taken to improve relations after Philippine Coast Guard officers shot up a Taiwanese fishing boat on May 9, 2013 in an overlapping exclusive economic zone of the two countries.
The shooting caused the death of a Taiwanese crew member, sparking outrage in Taiwan and a deterioration of bilateral relations.
2015 WantChinaTimes.com