The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday said they were separately verifying reports that the Chinese Coast Guard fired at and harassed Filipino fishermen somewhere in the disputed South China Sea (West Philippine Sea). The DFA said it was “verifying this report [on the ‘firing’ and the ‘harassment’]with our security agencies. With the current positive momentum in Philippine-China relations, we have mechanisms in place where the Philippines can raise such issues. This includes the bilateral consultation mechanism, which is meant to tackle issues of concern in the West Philippine Sea,” new department spokesman Robe Bolivar said.

Marasigan, F., & Pilapil, J. (2017, April 21). Sea dispute: PH verifying Chinese ‘harassment, firing’. Manila Times, p. A3.