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In our area, not all who logged out to fish went to Panatag Shoal, especially when situations became
different when our fishermen started being harassed by Chinese coast guard then, he said.
A fisherman could be said to have made it to Panatag Shoal if he had first class fish catch like grouper
and maya-maya.
So far, they only have tambakol, tuna, among others, he said.
Barangay kagawad (councilman) Jowe Legaspi said a cousin, Joseph Daruca, joined a group of
fishermen intent on getting to Panatag. But he was not sure if they reached the shoal.
Based on information I got, they went there but I am not aware up to where or how close they reached,
he said. It takes about two hours by ordinary fishing boat to reach Panatag Shoal from the payaw.
Its far but it is big and wide like that of Dasol Bay, he said.
Fishermen would visit Panatag Shoal from the third week of February to June, he said.
Legaspi used to have eight boats. He sold seven of them when he started losing money when the
Chinese barred them from Panatag.
Still Verifying
In Manila, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippine Coast Guard reported that Chinese
ships have not been sighted at Panatag Shoal in the last three days, but he added the report has to be
validated.
Lorenzana told the AP the Philippine Air Force plans to conduct aerial surveillance of the shoal to check
the situation.
After seizing Panatag, the Chinese went on to construct seven man-made islands near Palawan.
Deputy US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters in Beijing yesterday that Chinas withdrawal
from Panatag Shoal, even if it were a product of bilateral talks with Duterte, would be a positive
development welcomed by Washington.
He said it would be consistent with an international arbitration ruling in July that invalidated Beijings
sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea. The ruling said that both Filipinos and Chinese can
fish at the shoal, but China ignored it and its coast guard continued to block Filipino fishermen.
Blinken said that the US would continue to conduct freedom of navigation exercises in the South China
Sea that challenge Beijings territorial claims at a time when countries in the region including those that
are not directly involved in the China-Philippine dispute have signaled increased demand for American
presence.
Duterte has attempted to repair relations with China, but he has also ruffled feathers with the Philippines
longtime ally by threatening to scale down military ties with the US and hurling insults at President Barack
Obama.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the US was still assessing reports that Chinese boats
have left Panatag Shoal and Filipinos have resumed fishing there.
We hope it is certainly not a temporary measure. We would like it to be a sign that China and the
Philippines are moving toward an agreement on fishing access at Scarborough that would be in
accordance with the July 12 arbitral decision, Toner told reporters in Washington.
After visiting Beijing last week, Duterte said without elaborating that Filipino fishermen may be able to
return to Panatag after he discussed the territorial rift with Chinese leaders.
He said he insisted in his talks with Chinese leaders that the shoal belonged to the Philippines, but that
the Chinese also asserted their claim of ownership.
If the Chinese ships have left, then it means our fishermen can resume fishing in the area. We welcome
this development, Lorenzana said. Our fishermen have not been fishing there since 2012. This will
return to them their traditional source of livelihood. Jaime Laude, AP