Philippines fishermen remove Chinese buoys

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino fishermen found several buoys with Chinese markings near Panatag or Scarborough Shoal and towed them back to shore, officials said yesterday.

“Yes, there are buoys,” said Desiree Edora, mayor of Masinloc town in Zambales, which has jurisdiction over Panatag Shoal. “I already sent the chief of police to investigate.”

Also locally known as Bajo de Masinloc, the shoal is located 124 nautical miles from the nearest point in Zambales.

However, China seized control of the rocky outcrop in the West Philippine Sea in 2012 after a three-month standoff with Philippine Coast Guard ships, preventing Filipino fishermen from getting near their traditional fishing grounds.

China claims almost the entire West Philippine Sea, believed to be rich in energy deposits, where about $5 trillion in ship-borne goods pass every year. The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also have conflicting claims in the area.

Beijing has become increasingly assertive in the West Philippine Sea. Rapid reclamation around reefs in the Spratly archipelago in particular has sparked concern, both in the region and in the United States.

Filipino fishermen said they had found three long, orange containment booms, used to control oil spills, floating about four kilometers off Scarborough Shoal. It was the first time fishermen there found such devices.

“The buoys have Chinese markings,” one of the fishermen told GMA television network. “The markings showed the company that manufactured it. It even has phone numbers.”

The fishermen said they towed the buoys back to Masinloc to show officials there and turned them over to a coast guard detachment. They said they did not know why the buoys were there because there was no sign of any oil spills.