Filipinos fishing on frontline of China's battle for disputed sea

In this photo taken on Aug. 11, 2022, crew prepare to load small boats to their fishing "mother" boat in the village of Cato, Infanta town, Pangasinan province, as they get ready to leave for a fishing expedition to the South China Sea. The Scarborough Shoal fishing ground, tapped by generations of Filipino fishermen, is one of many potential flashpoints for military conflict over the South China Sea. China and Taiwan both claim sovereignty over almost the entire sea, while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have competing claims to parts of it.

AFP / Ted Aljibe

CATO, Philippines — Filipino fisherman Mariel Villamonte had spent years plying the turquoise waters of Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea for snapper and grouper -- until a Chinese coast guard vessel water cannoned his boat.

That was in 2012, around the time China snatched control of the small ring of reefs from the Philippines, and he has not dared go back. 

"Their ships are made of steel, ours are made of wood," said Villamonte, now 31, recalling how two Chinese vessels chased his outrigger before blasting it with high-pressure water.

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/10/06/2214702/filipinos-fishing-frontline-chinas-battle-disputed-sea