There are no guarantees on how long Filipinos can fish at Panatag Shoal without being stopped by Chinese authorities, but the Philippine government is proceeding along the “friendly” agreement with China that they can go there unmolested, Malacañang said on Wednesday. The Philippines has no formal agreement yet with Beijing concerning Filipinos’ access to Panatag Shoal, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella told reporters on Wednesday. No guarantees have been discussed as well, he said. “At this stage, we’re not talking guarantees, we’re just going by the fact that they, the fishermen, can now just go [there],” he said.

Salaverria, L. B., Dizon, N., & Yap, D. (2016, November 3). Panatag Fishermen told: enjoy while it lasts. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. A1, A15.