Q: On the 1st of May, Spokesperson Jay Tarriela from PCG said during a Press Briefing that “since the time of President Bongbong Marcos, we (the Philippines) have already crossed the red line of Bajo de Masinloc (Huangyan Dao). Before, during the previous administration, these government vessels are always not crossing the 12 nautical mile mark of the Bajo de Masinloc. But for President Bongbong Marcos, we have crossed that red line.” What is your comment on this?

A: Exactly as this PCG spokesperson has said, the Philippines has crossed the red line on the issue of Huangyan Dao. According to the temporary special arrangements by the Chinese side in 2016, Filipino fishermen can fish with small fishing boats in designated waters except the lagoon of Huangyan Dao，while the AFP, PCG and other Philippine government vessels and aircrafts should refrain from entering the 12 nautical miles and corresponding air space of Huangyan Dao. Over the past 7 plus years, the Philippine side had abided by the above agreements, and fishing by Philippine fishermen in designated areas off Huangyan Dao was not an issue. However, these arrangements are unilaterally disrupted by the current Philippine administration who dispatched its coast guard ships and official vessels to intrude a number of times into waters within 12 nautical miles of Huangyan Dao and encouraged the Filipino fishermen to challenge the arrangements to help promote its political agenda. This spokesperson from PCG didn’t shy away from admitting the fact that the current Philippine administration crossed the red line in Huangyan Dao. China was compelled to take necessary measures to safeguard our sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. Aside from disrupting existing fishing arrangements in Huangyan Dao, the current Philippine administration also reneged on its own words on the management of Renai Jiao and unilaterally abandoned the Gentlemen’s Agreement, Internal Understanding and New Model agreed upon by the two sides. This is the real cause of maritime incidents that heightened tension in the South China Sea over the past year.