Philippines to China: Stop harassing our fishermen

CLARK FREEPORT - The Philippines on Friday urged China to stop bullying its fishermen following the latest incident in disputed waters.

At the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation First Senior Officials' Meeting (APEC SOM1), Foreign Affairs spokesperson Charles Jose said the maritime actions of China endanger the safety and livelihood of Filipino fishermen.

"We would like China to stop 'yung harassment ng mga Filipino fishermen," Jose told reporters. "Don't do action that would endanger the lives of our fishermen."

Jose's statements came after a Chinese coast guard ship allegedly rammed and damaged three Filipino fishing boats at Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has filed a formal protest with Beijing, which took effective control of Scarborough in 2012.

The incidents are the latest in a long-running territorial dispute that has strained relations between the two Asian neighbors.

Despite China's increasing aggression, Jose hopes that the Philippines and China will still maintain mutual relations in other issues.

"We are still hopeful that despite ng mga nangyayaring ito, we can still develop other areas of cooperation

with China. We stand by our position that we are willing to isolate this South China Sea issue," Jose said.

Jose said this year's APEC meetings, which are being hosted by Manila, will not include the territorial disputes in the formal agenda.

"Sa mga bilateral meetings pwede. pero hindi yung formal APEC agenda," he said.