Armed with nothing but a deep sense of patriotism, the ‘Atin Ito’ coalition managed to successfully place symbolic buoys off the waters of West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The groups of small fishing boats deployed orange-colored markers bearing the message: “WPS, Atin Ito!” in an unspecified location within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines.
As of lunch time on Wednesday, May 15, ‘Atin Ito’ said its main civilian boats have distributed essential supplies like fuel and food packs to Filipino fishermen navigating the EEZ.
Hundreds of fishermen and volunteers departed from Botolan, Zambales to conduct a second civilian mission to the WPS.
They are heading towards Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Panatag/Scarborough Shoal, which is located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales—an area that falls within the Philippine EEZ.
‘Atin Ito’ and its allied organizations aimed to assert the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the area amid relentless Chinese incursion.
The international community views Bajo de Masinloc as a potential flashpoint in longstanding territorial disputes in the region since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.
The reef is about 240 kilometers west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and almost 900 kilometers from Hainan, the nearest major Chinese land mass.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims by the Philippines and other countries, and ignoring an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.