The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has monitored anew the presence of Chinese fishing vessels within the Philippine territory of the South China Sea amid the ongoing tension over territorial dispute in the area.
In a report, BFAR said its personnel in the West Philippine Sea (the portion of the South China within the Philippine territory) spotted several fishing vessels which were believed to be of the Chinese Maritime Militia.
The deployment of Chinese militias in the South China Sea is one of the strategies being employed by the Chinese government to make its presence felt in the area since the use of its own military vessels could escalate the tension.
BFAR said it is already coordinating with the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) for appropriate actions that may include endorsement of the incident as a ground for filing of diplomatic protest against China.
Recently, the DA-BFAR and the Philippine National Police-Maritime Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the conduct of joint seaborne patrol in Philippine seas, including the WPS. The police force will serve as ship riders on the BFAR vessels.
The BFAR, which is under the Department of Agriculture, is conducting a 24/7 operation in the West Philippine Sea through its Fisheries Monitoring Center (FMC).
The FMC monitors and tracks activities of Philippine flagged commercial fishing vessels including foreign vessels equipped with Automatic Identification System (AIS), and detects fishing boats that employ lights to attract fish at night using the satellite-based tool, Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suites (VIIRS).
Starting next week, the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images will also be used to reinforce monitoring and analysis of fishing activities in the WPS.