By Shirin Bhandari | 2025-04-25

"Bring the light," says Rolly Dela Cruz, 42, as he and his companion board their banca, a narrow wooden boat with outriggers (katig) for balance. The sun has nearly set, but they set out anyway, hoping for a decent catch to feed Dela Cruz's family and sell any surplus to neighbors on Pag-asa Island (Thitu Island, known as Zhongye Island by the Chinese).

Pag-asa -- meaning "hope" in Tagalog -- is one of the largest naturally occurring islands in the Spratlys. Falling under the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan province, it has been occupied by the Philippines since 1974.

Coveted for their strategic location, rich fisheries and potential energy reserves, the Spratlys are claimed by several countries, including China, which asserts historical rights under its "nine-dash line."

Despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration invalidating China's expansive claims, tensions remain high.

As part of its assertive expansion, China has militarized reefs like Subi, Fiery Cross and Mischief since the mid-1990s. This process has led to increasing confrontations across the West Philippine Sea (WPS), especially between Chinese coast guard vessels and Filipino fishers.

Dela Cruz moved to Pag-asa in 2021 when his wife, a nurse, was assigned to the island's health unit. Life on the island is a mix of peace and unease.

'We're just small-scale fishermen'

"Anywhere you went, the Chinese coast guard was close by," he recalled. Eventually, "you just get used to it." He shared his experiences with Focus, describing the everyday tensions and environmental shifts shaping their survival.

Home to about 400 civilians, Pag-asa offers tranquility -- but also restriction. Residents leave only once or twice a month, usually via military aircraft.

"We just have to be careful; the Chinese monitor our every move," Dela Cruz said. "We lack patrols, and Chinese boats are larger and better equipped. We're just small-scale fishermen."

Last June, China's top legislature passed a regulation allowing its coast guard to detain foreign "trespassers" in disputed waters for up to 60 days without trial. Chinese vessels frequently have harassed or rammed Filipino boats in contested areas like Scarborough Shoal and Ayungin Shoal.

Fishing has become more difficult.

"There are few fish. We have to go at least eight miles from shore," Dela Cruz said. He further lamented the widespread environmental damage, noting that "most corals are destroyed and powdery white, no matter where you swim around the island."

Overfishing and environmental degradation have forced locals to venture farther offshore into increasingly dangerous waters.

Crushed coral

Recent research supports Dela Cruz's observations. Between March and July 2024, Jonathan Anticamara, a biologist at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, led a study that found almost 90% of corals around Pag-asa to be dead.

"Most are small, covered in algae and bleached," he told Focus. "It's long-term damage."

Some of the destruction may be linked to nearby Sandy Cays 1, 2 and 3. While there is no direct evidence of reclamation, Anticamara pointed out that it is not normal for natural cays to have steep slopes and no algae.

The crushed coral could indicate human interference, though other factors may be contributing to reef damage. Continued research and monitoring have become difficult because of safety risks, after Chinese coast guard vessels rammed the team's rubber dinghy and destroyed its equipment.

The same degradation is occurring at Escoda Shoal, 75 nautical miles from Palawan and near Second Thomas Shoal -- another flashpoint.

"Fishermen are like nomads. They overfish one place and move on," Anticamara said. Without protected areas and conservation, only small fish will be left, he warned.

Chinese maritime militia trawlers, often escorted by the Chinese coast guard, operate year round in Philippine waters. Their presence peaked at 200 vessels around Mischief Reef late last October, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). These fleets frequently intrude into traditional Filipino fishing grounds, including Pag-asa, Recto Bank and Scarborough Shoal.

Their operations devastate ecosystems. Large trawlers extract fish continually, transferring catches to mother ships, news site Philstar reported on April 16.

Chinese poaching

The Chinese routinely harvest endangered species -- giant clams, Napoleon wrasse and fan coral, it added. Modified propellers grind down coral reefs. Chinese fishing boats reportedly target dolphins, turtles and sharks. As a result, they strip marine habitats bare, with little chance of recovery.

The environmental cost is staggering.

The Chinese leveled 12,000 hectares of coral at Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal in 2024, Philippine Climate Change Commissioner Albert Dela Cruz (no relation to Rolly the fisherman) said, according to the Philstar story. University of the Philippines oceanographer Deo Florence Onda cited heavy losses at Bajo de Masinloc and Kalayaan, it added.

Dutch analytics firm Elsevier estimates reef ecosystems are worth $353,429 (20 million PHP) per hectare per year, the report added. The loss from Rozul and Escoda alone may total 216 billion PHP ($3.82 billion) annually.

Former Philippine Bureau of Fisheries director Asis Perez said in 2021 that the Philippines loses 7.2 million kg of fish per month to Chinese poaching -- equivalent to at least 8.64 billion PHP ($152.5 million) in annual losses, according to Philstar.

Fish stocks are plummeting. The University of the Philippines' Institute of Biology estimates a 60–80% drop in fish production in the WPS due to ecological damage and unfavorable conditions, though it gave no time frame.

China's ecological footprint in Philippine waters continues to grow, yet monitoring is increasingly difficult.

"It's not just for us Filipinos but for all people in Southeast Asia," Anticamara said, since the WPS is a shared ecosystem.

Without sustained research and conservation, the region could lose it all, he emphasized.

As fishermen like Rolly Dela Cruz continue their nightly routines under the eyes of foreign patrols, they are no longer just fishing to survive -- but to preserve an entire marine ecosystem.