(Eagle News)–Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has ordered the military to validate a report Filipino fishermen were harassed by Chinese vessels near Pag-Asa Island in the West Philippine Sea.
In a statement, Lorenzana said that while there has been “no substantiated report” on the supposed incident reported by Kalayaan, Palawan Mayor Roberto del Mundo from the Western Command, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, “through the Naval Forces West under WESCOM, will nonetheless continuously validate and report any information relevant to Mayor del Mundo’s claims.”
Del Mundo had said around 50 Chinese vessels were roaming around in the area in an attempt to intimidate Filipinos who attempt to fish there.
The DND clarified the area in question was a fishing ground for Vietnamese and Filipino fishermen, but “it has been observed that they have not been fishing in the vicinity of the sandbar, even before the Chinese fishing vessels were sighted in the area.”
According to the DND, WESCOM has been encouraging the Filipino fishermen to continue to fish there.
