A civil society coalition on Saturday, Dec. 27, rejected China’s claim that it rescued a Filipino fisherman in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), calling it a “deceptive, self-serving, and propaganda-driven public relations campaign” meant to sanitize the numerous abuses committed by Chinese maritime forces against Filipinos over the years.

Atin Ito, which advocates for the rights and welfare of Filipino fishermen and frontliners in the WPS, said the supposed humanitarian action by a Chinese Navy warship toward Filipino fisherman Larry Tumalis was “misrepresented” to serve Beijing’s propaganda aims.

“We recognize the universal duty to assist people in distress at sea. But 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,” said Atin Ito co-convenor Rafaela David.

David, who is also president of Akbayan Party, noted that China’s account does not even align with established facts. While China claimed the fisherman had been missing for three days, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) clarified that he had been safely anchored to a payao for less than 24 hours, waiting for retrieval by his mother boat.

“This raises the most basic and unavoidable question. Why was China patrolling inside the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 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,” David stressed.

PCG spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela expressed similar sentiments, noting that what China did was “just a PR [public relations] stunt.”

“Para sa akin, this is just a PR stunt. Kung babasahin ang inilabas nilang statement, hindi nila sinabi doon kung saan lokasyon, because they are hiding the fact na nasa loob sila ng ating EEZ (For me, this is just a PR stunt. If you read their statement, they did not say where the incident happened because they are hiding the fact that they were inside our EEZ),” Tarriela said in a radio interview with DZBB.

To recall, China claimed that one of its navy vessels, a Luyang III-class guided-missile destroyer with bow number “174,” assisted a Filipino fisherman, later identified as Tumalis, on Christmas Day, Dec. 25.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila said the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N) destroyer gave food and water to the fisherman, who had been stranded for three days, and coordinated with the PCG for his safe rescue.

Atin Ito warned the public against what it called an attempt to sanitize China’s record of illegal actions through a single incident. The group cited recent reports of water-cannon use and dangerous maneuvers against Filipino fishers in the WPS.

“China should stop pretending that a bottle of water and a pack of snacks can wipe away years of harassment,” David said, recalling that days earlier, China Coast Guard vessels water-cannoned Filipino fishers in Escoda Shoal and carried out coercive maneuvers that damaged two fishing boats.

“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 (It’s like a thief who keeps breaking into your house, then one day ‘helps’ you while still stealing from you. Does that erase his crimes? Let us not be fooled by China’s propaganda),” David said.

David said China should not expect gratitude for what Atin Ito described as a public relations spectacle and pointed out that Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights in the WPS “are not for sale.”