Most of its deep-sea fishing boats may be grounded for now, unused over a decade of harassment by Chinese militia vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), but Zambales is aiming to reclaim lost ground in the contested waters near the Scarborough Shoal. On Friday, in a ceremony commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 2016 Arbitral Ruling that upheld Philippine sovereign rights over the WPS, the provincial government of Zambales reasserted its claim over the Scarborough, or Bajo de Masinloc, which fell into Chinese control after a standoff in 2012. “Scarborough is ours!” Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. declared to the wild applause of residents and government officials at the “Bayanihan sa Karagatan” ceremony here on Friday.

Empeño, H. (2026, July 14). Zambales resolves to reclaim fishing grounds in WPS. BusinessMirror, p. B8.