Among the tests awaiting apparent president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is how he would protect national interests, including that of Filipino fishermen, against the continued intrusion of Chinese poachers in the rich marine waters of the archipelago. The anomaly has gotten to that point where Filipinos are no longer sure if the imported fish they buy at a high price in the public markets were not illegally caught in Philippine waters and sold back to us by poachers. In explaining the government’s difficulty in securing territorial seas, the authorities point to the staggering size of our marine area, the lack of modern surveillance equipment and fast patrol craft equipped with tracking devices and firepower sufficient to deter intruders.

Pascual, F. D. Jr. (2022, May 24). Will BBM bar illegal Chinese fishermen?. The Philippine Star, p. 6.