Psalm 72 says it is God who has “dominion from sea to sea.” But the countries jostling for territory in the South China Sea don’t seem to see it that way. And one fisherman is pushing back against the ownership claims.
"He's like the guardian of Scarborough," says Filipino fisher Greggy Etac. He’s referring to his relative and fellow fisher, Renato.
Renato Etac isn’t afraid of high-seas bullies. He’s faced down armed Chinese Coast Guard forces. He’s even engaged in a stone-throwing duel with them. "I used to sail with him,” Greggy admits. “But now, I'm scared.”
"They'll say, 'Out, out of Scarborough,'" Renato says. He yells back, "Where is the document that shows Scarborough is Chinese property?"
The squabble is over the Scarborough Shoal. Both the Philippines and China—and Taiwan too for that matter—claim the 58-mile, triangle-shaped chain of rocky outcroppings. The shoal sits roughly in the middle of the South China Sea. Therein lies the problem.
The South China Sea is a hodgepodge of overlapping claims to that part of the Pacific Ocean. The area covers almost 1.5 million square miles—roughly half the size of the continental United States.
The South China Sea is strategically important as a shipping route. Imagine trading with China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, or Indonesia without water access. The area also contains rich fishing grounds and oil and natural gas reserves. It’s a plot so valuable no country is willing to surrender.
Clashes in the South China Sea are partly a battle of wills between American and Chinese battleships and planes. U.S. and Filipino forces regularly conduct joint patrols in the region. The disputes are also complex cat-and-mouse games between the coast guards of several countries and ordinary fishers.
For example, Indonesia seized a Chinese fishing boat in March and arrested eight fishermen. In turn, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel rammed the boat, allowing it to escape.
As tensions mount, those who make a living at sea feel it the most.
Renato Etac has had dozens of encounters with Chinese ships. More than once, Chinese guards have approached his boat and pointed rifles at him. At other times, the Chinese surge as if to hit his boat. But Etac uses his keen knowledge of Scarborough Shoal—he’s fished there since he was a teenager—to outmaneuver them.
Etac wants to defend his livelihood. He says the waters used to be open to all.
"It's like quarreling, like playing games," Etac reflects. He enjoys what he calls territorial "debates" on the high seas, though his earnings from a weeklong fishing expedition have dropped by more than half because of Chinese interference.
For now, he keeps fishing.
