View from Manila: Philippines downplays China’s new coast guard regulations as just ‘scare tactics’

SUMMARY

MANILA, Philippines –  The Philippines’ security sector on Monday, May 20, called on Filipino fisherfolk not to be afraid of the latest regulation of the China Coast Guard (CCG) on “Chinese waters.” The new directive would not have an effect because it has no legal basis, they said in a press conference.

“Continue fishing in the West Philippine Sea. You are backed by the law and your government,” said National Security Council spokesperson Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya.

Malaya, alongside Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela, downplayed the new regulation as “nothing more than part of China’s scare tactics” in the West Philippine Sea. 

He said the regulations, which direct the CCG to arrest or detain “any per…

Source:https://www.rappler.com/philippines/view-manila-downplays-china-coast-guard-regulations-foreign-trespassers/