A group of Philippine fishing vessels illegally intrude waters off China's Huangyan Dao in the South China Sea last week in an organized, provocative manner. Photos: Courtesy of a source familiar with the matter

 A group of officially organized Philippine fishing ships recently trespassed waters off China's Huangyan Dao (also known as Huangyan Island) in the South China Sea, people familiar with the matter confirmed with the Global Times on Sunday.

By repeatedly provoking against China's sovereignty and jurisdiction over islands and reefs in the South China Sea since 2023, the Philippines has abused and unilaterally sabotaged the foundation of Beijing's goodwill to Manila that temporarily allows Philippine fishermen to operate near Huangyan Dao, and if such provocations persist, China could be forced to take more effective measures to control the situation, experts said.

Recently, the Philippines organized some civilian ships to illegally intrude waters adjacent to China's Huangyan Dao. These boats were funded with official subsidies, and they used fishing activities as a cover, abusing China's goodwill, violating China's sovereignty and jurisdiction, and leading to aggravation of maritime situation, a source told the Global Times on Sunday.

Photos the Global Times obtained from the source showed that over a dozen Philippine vessels gathered near Huangyan Dao, with the China Coast Guard (CCG) also at the scene.

Ding Duo, deputy director at the Research Center for Ocean Law and Policy at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Sunday that Philippine officials instigated Filipino fishermen to break into China-controlled areas by providing them free fuel.

When then Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte visited China in 2016, the two sides discussed fishery cooperation in the South China Sea, including bilateral cooperation on fishing industry, and it was at that time that China agreed to make proper arrangements given its friendly relations with the Philippines.

"During the Duterte period, China and the Philippines reached a consensus that they would not discuss the South China Sea issues under the premise of the [so-called South China Sea] Arbitration and made temporary arrangements at the operational level for Filipino fishermen in the waters near Huangyan Dao," Ding said.

Citing this consensus, Ding said that the Philippine fishing boats are not allowed to enter the lagoon, fish for rare marine life, or damage the ecological environment, and at the same time, Philippine maritime forces were not allowed to enter into the waters of Huangyan Dao or to expel Chinese fishermen.

"Such preconditions reflected China's sovereignty and jurisdiction over Huangyan Dao, while the interim measures were based on China's goodwill to the Philippines," Ding said.

However, since the second half of 2023, the Philippines has repeatedly provoked on China's islands and reefs in the South China Sea, including Ren'ai Jiao (also known as Ren'ai Reef) and Huangyan Dao.

The Philippines adjusted its South China Sea policy and policy toward China after the current administration came to power, and the tacit understanding between the two sides at the maritime operational level was successively broken, Ding said.

If the Philippines abuses China's goodwill and the active measures China has taken to resolve the issue, inevitably this will have a negative impact on the stability at sea and definitely China will have to take more effective measures to control the situation, Ding said.

The Philippine fishery vessel group was reportedly accompanied by the Ship 3002 which belongs to the Philippines' Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources when they trespassed waters off Huangyan Dao, and according to a statement by Gan Yu, a spokesperson at the CCG, the CCG repelled this particular ship in accordance with the law when it ignored repeated warnings from the Chinese side and insisted on illegally intruding into waters adjacent to Huangyan Dao from Thursday to Friday.

Lei Xiaolu, a professor of law in China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies, Wuhan University, told the Global Times on Sunday that the CCG's statement did not mention the activities of the Philippine fishermen, only that the CCG repelled the Philippines' governmental vessel.

"This clearly expressed China's goodwill to the fishing activities, as well as China's determination to defend its sovereignty. However, when the fishing vessels are confirmed to be organized, sponsored or even controlled and authorized by the Philippines' government, it is sufficient to attribute the conducts of the vessel group to the state," Lei said.

Lei urged the Philippines to honor the "gentlemen's arrangement" with China rather than using its fishermen in aggravating the situation, if the Philippines still values the livelihoods of those in the fishing industry.

A group of Philippine fishing vessels illegally intrude waters off China's Huangyan Dao in the South China Sea last week in an organized, provocative manner. Photos: Courtesy of a source familiar with the matter