PCG thanks China for aiding Pinoy fisher, but asks why warship in EEZ

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

December 26, 2025 | 5:16pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard is rejecting the Chinese Embassy's statement that one of its warships rescued a Filipino fisherman stranded for three days in the South China Sea, saying he was adrift less than 24 hours and warning against using the incident as propaganda.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila said on Friday morning, December 26 that a People's Liberation Army Navy destroyer provided "swift humanitarian assistance" to a distressed fishing vessel on December 25, delivering food and water to a fisherman "stranded for three days due to engine failure." 

The embassy also shared video footage of the interaction between the Chinese troops and the Filipino fisherman, taken from the small boat dispatched to assist him. The fisherman was given two bottles of water and a pack of biscuits by the Chinese troops while he was holding a sign that read, "HELP ME."

But PCG spokesperson Jay Tarriela said the fisherman, Larry Tumalis, departed on a fishing trip on December 24 around 3 p.m. and was located by the Coast Guard and his mother boat the following afternoon. This was "less than 24 hours later," he said.

"[The] claim that he had been adrift for three days is inaccurate," Tarriela said in a statement. He said Tumalis was safely moored to a floating aggregate device, or "payao," and is currently waiting for pickup.

The PCG also received no prior information from the PLA Navy ship about the location or condition of the fisherman who received the assistance.

The fisherman, according to the PCG, became frightened when the Chinese warship dispatched a rigid-hulled inflatable boat. In response, the fisherman scraped carbon deposits from his engine’s exhaust pipe and used them to write “HELP ME.”

While the PCG expressed appreciation for the "humanitarian gesture" of the warship, it also questioned China's presence deep within the Philippines' sovereign waters.

The reported location of the interaction — about 71 nautical miles west of Silanguin Island in Zambales — falls within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, Tarriela said. 

While acknowledging the provision of a bottle of water and three packs of biscuits, Tarriela contrasted the gesture with what he described as the “barbaric, illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions” frequently carried out by the China Coast Guard against Filipino fishermen. 

He said the incident should not be exploited to advance China’s claims in the South China Sea.

"We hope this incident is not exploited as propaganda by China. Instead, it should serve as recognition that Filipino fishermen have full rights to fish in the waters around Bajo de Masinloc," Tarriela said.

The Christmas Day incident caps a year marked by continued rising friction between both countries' vessels in the West Philippine Sea, which Beijing continues to press its claim to despite a 2016 tribunal ruling that invalidated its nine-dash line.

In mid-December, around 20 Filipino fishing boats near Escoda (Sabina) Shoal were reportedly hit with high-pressure water cannons and dangerous blocking maneuvers by CCG and maritime militia vessels, leaving three Filipino fishermen injured and at least two boats damaged.

One of the more hazardous actions by Chinese vessels took place earlier in August after a CCG cutter accidentally collided with a Chinese warship near Scarborough Shoal while the CCG ship was pursuing a PCG vessel.