Far out in the South China Sea, where dark blue meets bright turquoise, a kilometers-long row of fishing boats anchor near Panatag Shoal, backed by a small Coast Guard armada projecting China's power in Asia's most disputed waters. China still calls the shots at the prime fishing spot and has boosted its fleet there, nine months after an international panel ruled that its blockade of the lagoon was illegal. China stopped repelling Filipino boats in October last year and allowed them to fish on the edges of the rocky outcrop, 230 km from the coast of Zambales province on the main Philippine island, Luzon, in the West Philippine Sea, waters within the Philippines' 370-km exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea.

At Panatag Shoal, China asserts power through control and concessions. (2017, April 11). Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A6.