President Duterte raised the issues of illegal fishing and coral reef protection during the ASEAN-China dialogue.
President Rodrigo Duterte raised the issues of illegal fishing and coral reef protection during the ASEAN-China dialogue last October 26, 2021.
During the President’s intervention in the 24th ASEAN-China Summit, which was part of the ongoing 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits and Related Summits, President Duterte noted that vulnerable marine ecosystems — including coral reefs and other living spaces of migratory and endangered wildlife species — should be prioritized.
“We hark back to the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairmanship in 2017 where we declared the Decade of Coastal and Marine Environmental Protection in the South China Sea from 2017 to 2027. Pursuant to this, we call for holistic efforts to protect and preserve biodiversity and the marine environment,” said President Duterte, who was virtually participating in the twin summits.
China was among the longer-tenured dialogue partners of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which the Philippines was a founding member.
Manila Bulletin reported that Premier Li Keqiang attended the ASEAN-China Summit on behalf of China.
The President also said that they must strengthen cooperation in addressing transboundary pollution and marine debris and must also ramp up efforts to fight against unreported, illegal, and unregulated fishing as well, adding that those were crucial to achieve food security and to mitigate global warming.
“We are all too aware of the horrendous consequences of a warming climate, especially for developing coastal countries like the Philippines,” Duterte said.
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Although the Duterte administration had managed to foster rosy bilateral ties with China, contentious actions existed in connection with the longstanding maritime disputes between China and the Philippines.
It was last March when more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels were seen anchored at Whitsun Reef, a disputed territory in the South China Sea.
This sparked tension between China and the Philippines, which both countries have claims over the said area.
Last April, the Philippines’ Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) investigated the alleged illegal fishing of the foreign ships within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The West Philippine Sea was part of the South China Sea, over which China had a blanket “historical claim”.
Also last April, Advocates of Science and Technology for the People or AGHAM claimed that the Philippines was losing PHP 1.3 trillion annually over the destruction of coral reefs by China’s alleged clam-poaching and island-building activities in the West Philippine Sea.
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