APHR Demands Protection of Filipino Fisherfolk, Calls for an end to US-China Militarization of the Philippine Seas

JAKARTA, 12 June 2025 – The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) stands in solidarity with Filipino fisherfolk and human rights defenders that continue to endure converging threats of foreign military competition and aggression.

Filipino fishing communities are facing growing threats to their safety, livelihoods, and dignity amid rising maritime tensions in the West Philippine Sea. As Chinese incursions intensify and US military activities expand through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the 2025 Balikatan Exercises, the Philippine government must fulfil its constitutional and international human rights obligations to protect its people.

“Philippine shores and seas are not playgrounds for contesting foreign power struggles. It is the lifeline of Filipinos who depend on them for food, livelihood, and identity,” expressed Mercy Chriesty Barends, APHR Chairperson and Member of the House of Representatives of Indonesia.

Following a pattern of hostile operations, on May 21, 2025 the Chinese Coast Guard once again demonstrated aggressive stance when it attacked two Philippine fishing boats conducting marine research near Sandy (Pag-asa) Cay with high-pressure water cannons and a sideswipe. The reported attack happened ‘within the territorial sea of the Philippines’ and resulted in risking crew safety and damaged equipment. More recently, a suspected Chinese maritime militia ran aground in shallow waters off Pag-asa Cay amid rough seas on June 7, 2025. Pag-asa Cay is home to both local fishing communities and Filipino state forces detachments.

“Fisherfolk must be free to conduct their livelihood without fear of violence,” Maria Angelina Sarmento remarked, APHR Board Member and Member of Parliament of Timor-Leste. She added, “any use of force or intimidation against unarmed civilians is unacceptable under international law.”

APHR then calls on the government to act as the primary guarantor of the Filipino people’s rights—by safeguarding national sovereignty, rejecting militarization, and ensuring that the rights to livelihood, security, and self-determination of coastal communities are fully respected and upheld.

Added to this regional threat is the accelerating militarization of the Philippine seas and fishing villages by the 40th US-PH Balikatan Exercises, under the reinvigorated EDCA—a supposedly military dissuasion of China but which, in practice, puts fishing and coastal communities in the impact zone of superpower competition.

The military drills are impacting negatively the local fishers. According to PAMALAKAYA, a national fisherfolk group, the Philippine Coast Guard’s ‘No Sail Zone’ in Cagayan and Zambales disrupted over 21,000 fishers, cutting off their access to fishing grounds and threatening their livelihoods.

Supposedly an annual combat drill simulating comprehensive war scenario to practice land, naval, air and space operations, the 2025 Balikatan Exercises that brought in over 14,000 troops alongside contingents from Australia, Japan and 20 observer countries is only a launching pad of sweeping military expansion that goes far beyond routine exercises.

Under EDCA, nine US access sites now dot Luzon and Palawan, with over USD 210 million allocated since 2014 for base development. While in early April, the US State Department approved a USD 5.58 billion weapons package for the Philippines. All designed to boost synergies in countering Chinese assertion.

“The militarization of Philippine seas and islands transforms communities into collateral spaces,” said Rangsiman Rome, APHR Board Member and Member of Parliament of Thailand. This threatens not only self-determination, but also the human rights of those who depend on these waters. Rome further emphasized that, “it is concerning that these measures, while framed as strengthening a bilateral relationship, exposes an entrenched pattern of the Philippines as a sprawling US military outpost.”

As the Philippines marks its 127th day of independence—APHR is alongside its citizens, condemning any foreign military interventions and activities, whether Chinese attacks against unarmed fisherfolk or US-led military drills that displace communities and obstruct livelihoods.

“We urge the suspension of all future Balikatan Exercises and a comprehensive review of EDCA to end US military intervention,” stated Charles Santiago, APHR Co-Chairperson and former Malaysian Member of Parliament.

Furthermore Santiago asserted, “as ASEAN legislators united under APHR, we demand a people-centered sovereignty—one that defends maritime livelihoods, guarantees the civic and democratic rights of defenders and to redirect trivial military funds to coastal development, livelihood support and resilience programs for fishing villages. #