Malacañang yesterday described as an “affront” to Philippine territory and sovereignty the harvesting of giant clams in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal by Chinese ships as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced it would take legal action against China over the incident. As this developed, the Supreme Court (SC) was asked to compel the government to protect disputed shoals in the West Philippine Sea where Chinese fishermen have reportedly been harvesting marine resources. A senior Navy official also said Chinese militia vessels continue to maintain their presence within the country’s Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and that they appear to be just sailing from one place to another in the region.

Lee-Brago, P., Romero, A., Punay, E., & Laude, J. (2019, April 17). 'China's clam harvesting violates Phl sovereignty'. The Philippine Star, pp. 1, 10.