The head of the Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Sunday said the Chinese Coast Guard and fishing vessels seen by a fisherman in Kalayaan Islands last January 25 were not moving.

In a radio interview, Rear Admiral Ramil Enriquez said they already investigated the claim of fisherman, Larry Hugo, that he was harassed by the Chinese Coast Guard.

Enriquez said the Chinese Coast Guard vessel and three Chinese fishing vessels that the fisherman encountered were not moving.

“The result was already released… Mr. Hugo was just fishing at the side of Pagasa Island… We noticed on the evidence we gathered that the Chinese Coast Guard vessels and the three Chinese fishing vessels are not moving,” he said.

“Our assessment is Mr. Hugo, upon seeing a lot of vessels in front of him, went home,” he added.

The commander said the video posted by Hugo on his social media account does not show that the Chinese vessels were moving.

He added that the big vessels could not stop Hugo from fishing because he was in the area where it was safe for them to fish.

“Based on our data… the direction that was being mentioned by Mr. Hugo that he came from Sandbar 1… it is something like southwest of Pagasa Island… The water there is not being passed by big vessels because they might run aground, so the entrance of big ships is on the east side,” the commander said.

Enriquez said the fear of the fisherman might be due to the report that China passed a law that explicitly allows the Chinese Coast Guard to open fire on foreign vessels.

During the interview with the residents from Pagasa Island, he said they were told that they could still fish in the area.

“An airplane from the Philippine Air Force conducted a patrol to verify if the vessels are still there… They are still there but the residents said the fishermen can still go on fishing,” he said.

“Maybe they are scared because the Chinese Coast Guard is in the area of Sandbar,” Enriquez added.

Enriquez said the Philippine Coast Guard advised the fishermen to inform them where they would go fishing so that in case of emergency and accident, response could be made.

The Philippines is occupying nine features in the Kalayaan Island Group, which is also being claimed by China. The nine features include the Pag-asa Islands, Parola Island, Panata Island, Kota Island, Patag Island, Lawak Island, Likas Island, Rizal Reef, and Ayungin Shoal. Ella Dionisio/DMS