Absent a formal agreement between the Philippines and China, the latter lifted last week its naval blockage that, for the past four years, had prevented Filipino fishers from gaining access to their traditional fishing areas in the Panatag/Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea (WPS/ SCS). Although it’s an ad interim or status quo ante situation – as one may choose to regard it – the Chinese action is a positive result of President Duterte’s four-day official visit to China (Oct. 1821). It fulfilled the hope he expressed in a speech on Oct. 23 before typhoon-ravaged residents of Cagayan and Isabela. Relating his discussion with China’s President Xi Jinping, he said: “We did not talk about war. We talked about how to help each other. Let us wait for a few more days, we might be able to go back to Scarborough Shoal.”

Ocampo, S. C. (2016, November 5). Fishers back to Panatag an interim gain for Phl. The Philippine Star, p. 13.