Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILABULLETIN)

Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers has sounded the alarm on China's alleged deployment of "fake fishing boats" in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

According to the quad-committee (quad-comm) overall chairman, these fake fishing boats carry with them Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) or Chinese Navy personnel, and not actual fishers.

"Kilala natin ang China na notorious sa pag-gawa ng mga pekeng produkto na itinitinda nila sa ating mga merkado. Ngayon, meron na rin silang fake na fishing boats," said Barbers.

(We know China as the notorious maker of fake products that are sold in the market. Now, they also have fake fishing boats.)

“Ang ulat na ito ay lumabas nang isiwalat ng ating Defense chief Gibo Teodoro ang bagay na ito matapos na siya at ang kanyang US (United States) counterpart ay magpunta at bumisita sa Palawan kamakailan lang,” he shared.

(This report came out when our Defense chief Gibo Teodoro bared this information after he and his US counterpart came to visit Palawan recently.)

Barbers said that if his hunch is right, there could also be a possibility that China also deployed its military personnel in the Philippines disguised as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) workers.

This would have allowed the spies to conduct surveillance and other military undertakings all over the country, he said.  

Barbers said China wants the international community to respect their baseless territorial lines but does not respect the Philippines and other Asian country-claimants by continuing to intrude on the country’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as declared by UNCLOS. 

“The Hague-based decision, constituted under Unclos, ruled that China’s claim of historic rights to resources in areas falling within its invisible demarcation (in the West Philippine Sea) ‘had no basis in law and is without legal effect’,” he added.