A COALITION of civil society organizations advocating for the rights and welfare of Filipino fishers on Saturday denounced what it described as China’s misleading and self-serving public relations campaign following its reported assistance to distressed Filipino fisherman on Christmas Day. Atin Ito said the incident, widely publicized by Chinese state media, was being used to project an image of humanitarian concern while diverting attention from Beijing’s long-standing pattern of alleged harassment and unlawful activities in the West Philippine Sea. “We acknowledge the global responsibility to assist those in danger at sea,” said Atin Ito co-convenor Rafaela David. “However, what China did was not humanitarian. It was image management, assistance driven by propaganda and intended to obscure years of harassment, violence, and illegal incursions.” David, who is also president of the Akbayan party, said China’s account of the incident was inconsistent with official Philippine reports. Chinese authorities claimed the fisherman had been missing for three days, but the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said he had been stranded for less than 24 hours after his boat’s engine stalled but was safely moored to a payao while awaiting retrieval by his mother boat. “This brings us to the fundamental and unavoidable question,” David said. “Why was china operating inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the first place? No act of assistance, however appreciated, justifies trespassing.” The West Philippine Sea covers maritime areas within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea. The area has been the site of repeated confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels, including incidents involving water cannons, dangerous maneuvers, and the ramming and shadowing of Filipino fishing boats and resupply missions. Atin Ito warned against what it called attempts to sanitize China’s record through a single, highly publicized episode. David cited recent incidents in the Escoda Shoal, where Chinese coast guard vessels fired water cannons at Filipino fishers and carried out aggressive maneuvers that damaged two fishing boats. “China should stop pretending that a bottle of water and a pack of snacks can erase years of harassment,” David said. Using an analogy in Filipino, David likened the situation to a burglar who repeatedly breaks into a home and then seeks credit for helping the homeowner while continuing to steal. In 2016, an arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines, invalidating China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, a decision Beijing continues to reject. “Assistance driven by propaganda does not erase violations of international law, whitewash aggression, or exonerate China from ongoing incursions,” David said. “Basic humanity is not something to be traded. Our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and territorial integrity in the West Philippine Sea are not for sale.”