A civil society organization criticized the China’s People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) vessel’s recent action in the West Philippine Sea, claiming to have rescued a Filipino fisherman who allegedly went missing for three days.
The Atin Ito Coalition said that while it is a universal duty to assist people in distress at sea, what China did was nothing but propaganda that aims to divert people’s attention away from the real issue in the WPS.
“What China did was not humanitarianism; it is image management. It is propaganda-driven assistance meant to distract us from years of harassment, violence, and illegal incursions,” Akbayan Party President and Atin Ito co-convenor Rafaela David stated.
David noted that China’s claim that the fisherman had been missing for three days does not align with facts clarified by the Philippine Coast Guard, which said the fisherman was safely anchored to a fish-aggregating device (payao) for less than 24 hours and was waiting to be retrieved by his mother boat.
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Moreover, David questioned the presence of the PLAN vessel in the area where the fisherman was rescued, which is inside the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone.
“Why was China patrolling inside the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone in the first place? No act of assistance, however welcome, grants permission to trespass. No gesture of kindness erases repeated acts of harassment and violence in our waters,” she said.
The coalition likewise raised caution against China’s attempt to sanitize its long record of abuse through a single, highly publicized incident, saying the supposed assistance could overshadow the bigger issue of bullying and harassment.
“Parang magnanakaw na palaging pumapasok sa bahay mo, tapos isang araw, ‘tumulong’ siya habang ninanakawan ka pa rin. Abswelto na ba siya sa mga krimen niya? Huwag tayo magpauto sa propaganda ng China,” David said, noting that just a few days earlier, the CCG harassed Filipino fishermen in Escoda Shoal by firing water cannons at them, resulting in physical injuries to three fishermen and damage to two fishing boats.
“Propaganda-driven assistance does not negate violations of international law, launder aggression, or absolve China of continuing encroachment. Basic humanity is not a bargaining chip. Our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and territorial integrity in the West Philippine Sea are not for sale, and the Filipino people will not be gaslit into gratitude for an obvious PR spectacle from a foreign aggressor,” she concluded.
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