DFA to forward poaching evidence to China

Photographs of dynamite and corals seized from Chinese fishing boats last Jan. 25 will be sent to China to justify Navy patrols off Scarborough Shoal.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr. said yesterday the evidence will be coursed through Ambassador to Beijing Romualdo Ong.

Meanwhile, Ong was summoned to the Chinese foreign ministry last Feb. 3 to explain why the Navy had boarded the two Chinese fishing vessels.

Siazon said China had condemned the Navy's action, which it described as "violative of Chinese sovereignty and a robbing of the boats' crewmen."

The government on the other hand, wants China to restrain its fishermen from operating in the disputed areas to avoid tension between the two countries.

Siazon said the use of dynamite in fishing is illegal in China just like in the country, and that China should take appropriate action against the Chinese fishermen.

Dynamite were seized from the two Chinese fishing boats after the Navy boarded them off Scarborough Shoal.

Earlier, the government filed a diplomatic protest to China over the continued intrusion of Chinese fishing vessels in the waters off Scarborough, which the Philippines says is within its exclusive economic zone.

As for the Navy's firing of warning shots over the Chinese boats last Jan. 6., Siazon said the case is being investigated to determine if the Navy had violated the rules of engagement.

Siazon said the government does not authorize the use of force to keep out foreign vessels from poaching within Philippine waters.

However, the Navy said the warning shots were not intended to threaten the Chinese fishing boats, but to avoid a collision between the two vessels.

Although the Chinese were reported to have provoked the Navy to a confrontation, Siazon said foreign fishermen found poaching in Philippine waters should no longer be arrested to avoid tension.

Siazon said the Navy's duty should be limited to guarding against destruction of the marine environment since prosecution of poachers can be expensive for the government.

In another matter, Siazon said changing the name of the waters surrounding the areas claimed by the Philippines would not solve the dispute with China.

Earlier, Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado was reported to have suggested that the South China Sea be renamed the "West Philippine Sea."