ON Christmas Day, December 25, the Chinese Navy vessel 174 spotted a small wooden fishing boat adrift at the South China Sea with a fisherman standing and holding up a sign that reads, “HELP ME.”
The fisherman, a Filipino, had been adrift for three days after his boat engine conked out with no hope of rescue until the Chinese Navy vessel passed by.
The Chinese ship immediately sent out a rescue team and passed on water, food and other supplies to the fisherman, later identified as ‘Larry Tumalis,’ who was very profuse in thanking his rescuers.
Another video of the report clearly records the Chinese Navy ship communicating with a Filipino over the radio, twice informing the latter that “the engine (of the fishing boat) is broken… I have provided water and food for him… Please organize assistance immediately, over.”
The Philippine side, identified as personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), responded: “Roger on that Sir… We’re coming.”
The incident became prominent on Philippine social media, occurring as it did on Christmas Day and providing some relief after the December 16, Sabina Shoal, water-cannoning incident involving suspected Philippine paramilitary personnel masquerading as ‘fishermen’ sent out to stage another provocation against China.
I am certain most of our nation greeted the news about Tumalis in the spirit of the season.
But not everybody was happy, especially within the rank of the 4 percent of Pinoys that a Pulse Asia survey keeps reporting as ‘anti-China.’
To them, the news about the incident is “propaganda,” a concocted story to make China look good.
The anti-China Philippine Daily Inquirer shamelessly reported the rescued Tumalis as “frightened” despite the video footage showing him smiling and grinning from ear to ear.
West Philippine Sea Task Force spokesperson, Jay Tarriela again lied thru his teeth when he denied that the Chinese Navy radioed the PCG, despite the video evidence.
The Inquirer also quoted Tarriela callously scoffing at the “water bottle, biscuit aid” handed out by the Chinese Navy to the distressed Filipino.
Foreign-funded online news platform Rappler headlined its report thus, “PCG to China: Aid of fisherman ‘appreciated,’ but why were you in PH EEZ?”
Rappler and the PCG, especially the likes of Tarriela are so ‘Americanista’ that they casually ignored the fact that the area we claim as part of our EEZ is a contested one not only between the Philippines and China but by other countries as well.
Further dumbing down their readers, Rappler also did not explain that even UNCLOS allows freedom of navigation to everyone in an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
International law expert Dr. Mellissa Loja in an interview with The Manila Times explains, “Search and rescue is a duty that all states must observe, regardless of territorial claims or exclusive economic zones.
“To question the right of a foreign vessel to traverse the Philippine EEZ displays a lack of understanding of the principle of freedom of navigation.”
But the China-bashing and distortion of the incident did not stop there. The foreign funded “Atin Ito,” which professes to be a civil society group of patriotic Filipinos, describes the rescue as a “PR stunt” and “propaganda driven.”
So, was Tumalis merely play-acting? In exchange for what, we ask?
These anti-China, imperialist proxies would clutch at straws so they can say anything bad about China.